Author Topic: Anyone used .25-35 for light to medium whitetail deer? (Read 929 times)

huntsman · « **on:** November 17, 2004, 03:39:15 PM »

Considering this cartridge as an extremely low-end short range (135 yards or less) round for whitetails to 200 pounds live weight. Wondering what experiences anyone has had with this round on similar game. Seems to have "paper" killing figures somewhere between .223 and .357 mag, both effective low-end deer rounds for short range, lightweight work. Would like to hear some actual experiences if any are out there. Thanks.

goose7856 · « **Reply #1 on:** November 17, 2004, 05:12:35 PM »

ive nvm heard of the round, but it sounds interesting.....is it a rifle round, or a handgun round?? Seems like a good lower caliber choice now is either a 25-06, or a 25 wssm (kinda new, and ammo is expensive, but it looks to have an upside).......that is just my opinion, but both those rounds seem to have something to offer.....either one will probably be my next deer size caliber (probably the 25 WSSM just b/c I like to try new stuff!! :grin: )

good luck, and i hope to hear about that caliber!!

huntsman · « **Reply #2 on:** November 17, 2004, 05:56:22 PM »

According to my sources, the Winchester M94 carbine, among possibly other rifles, was chambered for the .25-35 cartridge through 1964. The case dimensions do not seem to be similar to any other cartridges listed in my reloading guides. Factory ammo has published velocity for 117 grain bullet of 2230 fps. That's really all I know about it, perhaps others can enlighten us further.

JPSaxMan · « **Reply #3 on:** November 18, 2004, 12:30:06 AM »

Where in heck do ya get ammo for it? I assume you handload....

huntsman · « **Reply #4 on:** November 18, 2004, 03:13:20 AM »

Plenty of .25-35 ammo for sale on gunbroker.com and sometimes auctionarms.com. Midway sells factory Winchester Super-X ammo for this round.

Steelhead · « **Reply #5 on:** November 18, 2004, 03:46:28 AM »

Yes yes and yes. I have only tagged 2 deer with it, some years ago. 2 blacktail bucks, with the biggest going about 150 pounds. Distance wasn't anymore then about 60 yards, with covers most of the deer I have shot.

I did yeomens duty on both deer. A shame no one makes a good FP 100gr bullet for it.

I have been seriously considering getting a Contender Carbine and a 23/35 barrel, just to see how it acts with some spitzers.

GO get them.............

Flash · « **Reply #6 on:** November 20, 2004, 01:54:19 AM »

25/35's can be made by running 30/30's into a sizer and trimming. The rifling twist is 1 in 8 in the original guns and probably not good for light cast bullets. I was considering one for deer also. Does anyone know the twist of the Contender barrels?

Siskiyou · « **Reply #7 on:** November 20, 2004, 06:42:52 AM »

I hunted part of one season as a 12-year old with a borrowed Winchester M94. It was a Saddle Ring model, and the finish was nickle. The bore was good, but the finish showed a lot of wear from spending time in a saddle scabbard. The rifle belonged to a rancher and it had spent a lot of years on board a horse before WWII.

The rifle locked up okay, but at times when working the lever a round would drop off the carrier into the lower action. It was a pain getting the round out of there.

I was hunting with it because it was considered a "kids Gun." Dad switched me to a .303 Savage with 190 grain Silvertips. The 25-35 was considered under powered.

I would love to have that rifle today, but I would not take in deer hunting. It would be a fun center fire plinker.

The 25-35 is far out classed as a deer round by the 250-3000 and the .257 Roberts.

Lawdog · « **Reply #8 on:** November 20, 2004, 12:35:54 PM »

huntsman,

I have a Win. M94 in .25-35 with a 24" octagon barrel. Got it 30 years ago and sent it to Winchester to be restored. I grew up with a number of boys that used either a .25-35, .30-30 or a .32 Special for hunting. Always wanted a .30-30 as a kid so I would be like the rest but I would have settled for either the .25-35 or .32 Special. The reason for telling you this is I have seen/killed a few of very large Mule Deer and one Black Bear(I was young and knew it all then) as a teenager using the .25-35(belonged to a friend - we switched rifles just to see how the other guys shot). The load I use in my .25-32 is 27.3 gr. of H4895 for 2,228 fps. using the 117 gr. Hornady RNSP bullet. It will do the job out to 150(+/-) yards if you do your part. Lawdog

dakotashooter2 · « **Reply #9 on:** November 24, 2004, 04:04:03 PM »

My grandfather used one for many years and claimed it never let him down. Most of his shots were probably under 150 yards. I used it for one season but never had the opportunity to shoot anything. Unfortunatly it went to one of my uncles who became disgruntled after the estate was settled. I offered to buy it several times and he would not sell. I really suspect he had already sold it because he nor his sons had any interest in guns or hunting. I sure would have loved to work up some cast loads for it.

willysjeep134 · « **Reply #10 on:** November 29, 2004, 07:49:58 AM »

My dad's first deer rifle was a M94 .25-35 full octagon rifle. I would rate the .25-35 as perfectly fine for deer of the size you mentioned. Many people started out with 25-35's back then. The recoil was less than some of the more powerful cartriges. You need to know how to shoot, and where to shoot, but once you have that down it is a fine rifle. Many of those factory figures can be pretty far from the truth too. If you ever get a chance I would sugjest you track down a chronograph and shoot a few rounds over it. You might be pleasantly surprised.