The .25-35 Winchester Center Fire (WCF) was introduced in 1895 in the Model 1894 Winchester lever-action, along with the .30 WCF, better known as the .30-30. Both cartridges also appeared in later variations of 1894, called the Model 55 and 64, along with other manufacturers’ lever-actions. The .30-30 became one of the most popular hunting rounds of all time, but the .25-35 Winchester apparently hung right in there until the 1920s, when higher velocity bolt-action cartridges took over the “small bore” market.
While significantly more powerful than the .25-20 Winchester, the .25-35 Winchester Center Fire can be used to hunt small deer at 200 yards and medium-sized deer at 100 yards, though some consider it better suited to small predators such as coyotes instead. It was a popular round used in the Winchester Model 1885 High Wall single-shot rifle. In standard loadings in a 20-inch barrel, the cartridge retains only about 800 to 900 fps at 100 yards, or about what its sister cartridge the .30-30 has at about 200 yards. Hornady's LEVERevolution load for the .25-35 Winchester, tested in a 24-inch barrel, lists about 900 fps at 200 yards; and the manufacturer claims the load is suited for deer and antelope.
Original factory ammo featured 117-grain soft-point and full metal jacket bullets at a listed 1,960 feet per second, but a 1925 “Super Speed” load with an 87-grain bullet supposedly got 2,700 fps, pretty close to the .250-3000 Savage. The 1954 Gun Digest was the last edition listing Winchester lever actions chambered in .25-35. Winchester ammunition has been continuously available since 1895, though since around World War II the only load has been the 117-grain round-nose soft point. Published muzzle velocity reached its peak at 2,300 fps in the early 1970s, when most factory ammunition was still tested in 26-inch barrels but is now 2,230.
The .250-3000 Savage was designed for the Savage Model 99 lever action rifle by designer Charles Newton in 1915. The .250-3000 Savage is better known as the .250 Savage and was an original design from a rimless bottleneck .258 inch (6.6mm) large rifle cartridge. The ballistic performance based off four grain types for velocity is 3,170 ft/s (75 gr), 2,997 ft/s (90 gr), 2,864 ft/s (100 gr), 2,652 ft/s (117 gr).
The .250 Savage was designed to be a light weight bullet that could be fired at high velocity for a medium sized game hunting round. It was to compete with cartridges such as the 30-30, 30-06, and 7mm rifles. At first the round was well received, but after being on the market for a while shooters noticed the 87 grain bullet would fragment prior to entering game muscle tissue far enough to do proper lethal damage.
The 100 grain cartridge seemed to solve the wound on target issue for medium sized game, but in the 1950s the .243 began to replace the .250 Savage in popularity. Remington produces factory loaded ammunition for the .250 Savage. Hand loading brass can be found for 75-87 grain bullets for use with varmint hunting, and 100-120 grain for medium sized game hunting from dealers such as Hornady, Speer, and Sierra.
