For some time, Serengeti has specialized in the production of big game hunting rifles with heft and mass to tame the recoil of potent cartridges. Now the time seemed right to bring out a new lightweight. It’s John Barsness’ fault. Recently, we attempted prairie dog genocide on the Indian Reservation and he hogged the .221 Fireball until all the ammo was gone. After many hundreds of rounds behind our larger rifles, it seemed to us that less might indeed be more.

But what to put it in? Most short actions seem huge compared to the cartridge and we wanted something proportional. While the search for a platform was underway, some Internet browsing discovered a lot of information on specialty .20 caliber cartridges, including the .20 VarTarg, which is simply a necked down .221 Fireball. Loading data existed. Dies existed, reamers existed, and Dakota was scheduled to make it a factory cartridge in 2005. Cooper already chambered for it. Why fight a good idea?

We decided to look first at the Mini-Mauser, then imported by Charles Daly, and now by Remington Arms. These actions need serious refinement for a custom rifle, so we planned a Serengeti Treatment that includes trigger work, bolt handle shaping, tang and bottom metal shaping, smoothing the internals, jeweling the bolt, case hardening the anti-bind bar, and milling the floorplate release button. It’s what we do, so we also added our logo electro-etched on the ejection port side-plate.

The resulting rifle handled so well, and felt so appealing in the field many folks begged us to make it for big game too. This turned out to be a major challenge because the Mini-Mauser has one great drawback – short magazine length, which seriously restricts available cartridges. After a LOT of work, we successfully developed the TigerCat in the 6.8mm Remington SPC – a cartridge that has proven to be much more effective than the ballistics suggest. Also a wildcat we call the 6mm Serengeti based on the same case.

There had to be an easier solution, so we looked at the Kimber 84M action. It has the same ring diameter, is relatively the same size and weight, and already comes with a fine three-position safety. It’s also a CRF action, with all-steel bottom metal, and has a good trigger. It’s a half-inch longer than the Mini-Mauser, guard screw to guard screw, but all of that is in the magazine. The Kimber will support cartridges up to 2.800 in length where the Mini-Mauser could only handle 2.300 inches or thereabouts.

We modify the Kimber also, constructing our own recoil lug, shaving off some weight, and rebarreling with a custom contour that makes the action and barrel look like it was machined from a single block of metal. The Serengeti logo goes on a milled flat much the same as that on the Mini-Mauser.

The same stock geometry works for both actions, but most TigerCat rifles will be based on the Kimber 84M, with possibly other actions in the future. Many cartridges are planned and possible. We’ve already done several, ranging from the .20 Dakota VarTarg up the significant punch of the .338 Federal. A lot of power in a five and half pound rifle.

   

TigerCats feature Chrome Moly or Stainless Steel receivers with a featherweight profile stainless barrel, 22” long. We designed the stock to be slender, trim and elegant. These rifles can have high-grade Claro ACRAbond laminates like those depicted or be stocked with best-grade Turkish Walnut. Half-inch Pachmayr pads look great. The magazines have five round capacity. With Talley ultra-light rings, and Leupold scopes like the very nice 1.75-6x VXIII, the all-up weight can run less than 6-½ lb. Put one in your gun cabinet. Better yet, put it over your shoulder and go upslope to get that thirty-inch muley.

See our Price List.