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I believe The 25-35 was introduced simultaneously with the .30 WCF in 1895, the first two smokeless cartridges to be chambered in the Winchester Model 1894. Velocity was surely on the company’s mind at the time.
The 25-35 must have been sufficiently popular to induce Remington to create its rimless competitor, the 25 Remington Rimless, in 1906, as part of a series of cartridges for the Browning-designed automatic and Pederson-designed pump. All but the .35 Remington were based on a rimless version of the case designed by Winchester for its two new smokeless cartridges.
For whatever else these early .25 caliber rounds may have been intended, our most famous Texas Ranger employed one against the “most dangerous game” in South Texas. Ranger Captain Frank Hamer’s first “pear burner” was a 1908 Remington automatic chambered in .25 Remington, especially modified to accept a detachable extended magazine. This same rifle was later loaned to and used by a brother officer in the killing of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
November 7, 2015
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About 40 years ago in Jim Wilson’s gun shop (Pierce’s) in Denton, Texas I was sorely tempted by a Model 70 in 25-06 and have been an admirer of the 25 caliber ever since. Other than the 257 Roberts none have lived up to their potential, IMHO but I’ll always be interested in them because I like something a little off the beaten path. Someday I’ll have a 25-35, but not because I want to shoot deer, coyotes or gophers with it. I just want to shoot it.
Mike
Zebulon said
I believe The 25-35 was introduced simultaneously with the .30 WCF in 1895, the first two smokeless cartridges to be chambered in the Winchester Model 1894. Velocity was surely on the company’s mind at the time.
Not quite simultaneously, but close. The 30 W.C.F. was introduced in May 1895, and the 25-35 W.C.F. followed it in August 1895, and then the 32 W.S. in October 1901.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Bert H. said
Zebulon said
I believe The 25-35 was introduced simultaneously with the .30 WCF in 1895, the first two smokeless cartridges to be chambered in the Winchester Model 1894. Velocity was surely on the company’s mind at the time.
Not quite simultaneously, but close. The 30 W.C.F. was introduced in May 1895, and the 25-35 W.C.F. followed it in August 1895, and then the 32 W.S. in October 1901.
Bert
D’accord.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
TXGunNut said
About 40 years ago in Jim Wilson’s gun shop (Pierce’s) in Denton, Texas I was sorely tempted by a Model 70 in 25-06 and have been an admirer of the 25 caliber ever since. Other than the 257 Roberts none have lived up to their potential, IMHO but I’ll always be interested in them because I like something a little off the beaten path. Someday I’ll have a 25-35, but not because I want to shoot deer, coyotes or gophers with it. I just want to shoot it.
Mike
Is that Jim Wilson the one who moved to the Big Bend and started writing gun articles?
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
November 7, 2015
Offline
Zebulon said
TXGunNut said
About 40 years ago in Jim Wilson’s gun shop (Pierce’s) in Denton, Texas I was sorely tempted by a Model 70 in 25-06 and have been an admirer of the 25 caliber ever since. Other than the 257 Roberts none have lived up to their potential, IMHO but I’ll always be interested in them because I like something a little off the beaten path. Someday I’ll have a 25-35, but not because I want to shoot deer, coyotes or gophers with it. I just want to shoot it.
Mike
Is that Jim Wilson the one who moved to the Big Bend and started writing gun articles?
Jim was actually writing articles when he lived and worked in Denton, not aware of any that were published before he was elected sheriff. Jim is a very well-read fan and amateur historian of the “old west” and Texas Rangers. His historical articles are very well researched and quite entertaining to read.
Mike
Well, I have a box of Hornady 25-35 Lever Revolution 110 grain FTX and the velocity printed on the box is 2425 fps.
Online
I think the original question here is an interesting one. I need to shift out of my usual perspective – which is a collector’s perspective. The .25-35 has interested me because of the enhanced collector status. I’ve owned several, but never acquired one because of small game hunting needs. In fact, I never fired any of my .25-35’s on an animal.
The .25-35 is a lighter recoiling round with a lighter report. My appreciation for lighter recoiling rifles has grown significantly as I’ve aged. I can see for small game, it is the better choice than the larger calibers such as .30 WCF. The .25-35 was also a cross-over piece as it straddled both small game and medium game such as deer (at closer range). It performed this cross-over function much better than cartridges such as the .25-20. It’s also a good, “farm family gun” as the wife and youngsters could manage it easier.
Thinking more about this, back in the day (i.e. at the time of it’s introduction) a whole lot more people lived rurally. Small farms were very common. Aside from the annual deer hunt, the main need for a rifle was for fox, coyote, coons, skunk, badger, porcupine and the like. I could see the .25-35 working out for all these needs. One cross-over centerfire rifle, a shotgun and a .22 would do it. And for many farms, that’s about all they had. Add a .30-06 and you would be ready to cover anything on this continent.
This turned out to be a very interesting discussion.
I like the caliber, and have three guns chambered for it – two carbines and a rifle. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve used the rifle to shoot pigs in Texas, but the 25-35 does not have the oomph to reliably knock down the rams in metallic silhouette. My two carbines are for my collection, and shooting for fun. I would be comfortable using them for hunting Whitetail in river bottom thickets – I think it would be a good choice in that capacity.
I posed the original question, because I was thinking back to the origin date of the 25-35 and the 30-30. If I were a rancher/farmer back then, I would probably have opted for a 30-30 as an “all-rounder”…… hence my original query about who the target audience might be.
The ensuing discussion has been quite interesting as well as illuminating.
It’s fun to speculate about who the target audience was. We may or may not be on track. It would be fascinating to see a transcript of the original Winchester management discussion. Just what was said? Did for example, someone suggest that the light recoil would appeal to women and perhaps farmers would order one for their wife?
I’ve made a similar speculation about the Winchester management discussion that resulted in the decision to add the .300 Savage to the Model 70 line. Maybe someone around that table had the foresight to say something to the effect of, “50 years from now collectors will love these as we’re not going to sell very many.” 
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