The .25-35 Winchester (aka .25-35 W.C.F.) was first offered in 1895 for the Winchester Model 1894 rifle, but has also been offered by other rifle manufacturers and in several action types. It was one of the early sporting rifle cartridges designed for smokeless powders and was based on the same rimmed case as .38-55, .32-40, .30-30 Winchester family of cartridges. It was known for its mild recoil and accuracy.

Factory loads from Winchester, the only U.S. company currently offering ammunition, advertise a 117-grain bullet at 2,230 fps from a 24-inch barrel. These loads clocked at 2,131 fps from a Winchester Model 1894 Carbine with a 20-inch barrel, used to work up the accompanying handloads.

Cases should be full-length sized and bullets crimped in place, especially when used in rifles with a tubular magazine (which most are). If cases are uniform in length, a roll crimp can be applied; however, cases of varying lengths can be conveniently and uniformly crimped using a Lee Factory Crimp die. Spitzer bullets should not be used in tubular magazines, or the possibility of cartridge detonation within the tube may occur.

The 60-grain Hornady FP bullet failed to feed properly in the Winchester levergun, with cartridges being fed in single-shot mode.

Several powders produced excellent accuracy and duplicated (or exceeded) factory load velocities, including Hodgdon H-4895, IMR-3031 and IMR-4320.