Bushnell Trophy trs 25 any good?

[dverna]

Someone had the Sigs for $100 during cyber something or other …..I had loaned a lot of money to people who needed help and then found a Vortec scope I really needed, when I saw the Sigs on sale. Could not justify putting a couple on the CC.

Will regret that I bet. Plan on mounting one an AR and another on a .38/.357 lever action. Will wait for them to go on sale again.

Lloyd talked about them a few months ago and his review convinced me they were the way to go.

[Tripplebeards]

I considered purchasing the Trs 25, but went with the AT3 RD-50. A little mor expensive, but it has a 2 MOA dot. However, I have not shot with it yet. I mounted it on a Mossberg 12 ga.

I did the same and it went back a couple of times because the dots look like starbursts inside the house but we’re fine out in the daylight. I talked to AT3 And they told me they are the exact same rebranded Chinese product as the Bushnell But advertise it’s 2 MOA instead of 3 and also AT3 gives a lifetime warranty and there’s that’s why they charge more for them so they can cover the cost when it gets sent back for replacement. They’re were really nice guys and honest about their dots when I talked to them. I almost kept the dot sight even though everyone they dent me looked like a starburst inside the house because it still look great outside. But the problem I was having is the reason why they look like a starburst in the house is their brightness settings are too bright. If they would’ve had a couple notches to take it down lower their circle that would be perfectly round in the house. Put in a couple of batteries that are almost dead and you’ll see what I’m talking about. That will be a lot dimmer and I’ll be nice and round and crisp. AT3 kept telling me it was my eyes. It wasn’t, as my other dot sights are crisp and clear... And I just have Lasic done on my eyes are perfect vision. So their “excuse” for a their fuzzy dot was not jiving with me. My cheap Tasco dots are rounder, crisp, and clearer. I replaced it with some ultrdots matchdot and never looked back. I Will eventually buy another one for maybe a cheap pistol someday. You Get for what you pay for.


If you go on YouTube there’s some really good torture test done on the Bushnell TS 25. People are dragging their ARs behind trucks, throwing them in the mud, throwing them on the ground, and submersing them in water for God knows how long and they still hold her zero and work just fine. I think for the 30 or 35 bucks but you can find them all over internet for they are worth their weight in gold. I just have a hard time only spending 30 or 40 bucks on an optic after spending 500 to 1000 or more on the gun to put it on. It probably would make a really good red dot for an air rifle,pistol,or 22Lr.

[Lloyd Smale]

ya they had them on ebay for 105 shipped a while back. I picked up three. Had use for one of them and the other two are waiting a couple guns ive got going right now. Just had a vortex fail on me for the first time. I had the old style sparc with the coin battery on one of my 9mm ars. Took it out of the same and turned the sight on and it would only work on night vision setting or full power. No in between. Boxed it up and sent it in. Im sure they will replace of fix it. Don't have a clue what caused it. I don't remember even dropping it. Oh well one things written in stone. If its mechanical it can break.

Someone had the Sigs for $100 during cyber something or other …..I had loaned a lot of money to people who needed help and then found a Vortec scope I really needed, when I saw the Sigs on sale. Could not justify putting a couple on the CC.

Will regret that I bet. Plan on mounting one an AR and another on a .38/.357 lever action. Will wait for them to go on sale again.

Lloyd talked about them a few months ago and his review convinced me they were the way to go.

[Rick Hodges]

Funny thing about too bright of settings....I have an illuminated crossbow scope that I have to let new batteries stay on for at least 24 hrs before it is usable. It is just too bright and washes things out otherwise.

Tripplebeard, a starburst light pattern with bright lights is a known side effect of lasic surgery. My son is bedeviled with it with oncoming headlights. No doubt the light is brighter than you need.

The battery on my Primary Arms Red Dot is supposed to last 50,000 hours. I have had it for 4 years and still on the original battery. I don't leave it on all the time.

[Tripplebeards]

Funny thing about too bright of settings....I have an illuminated crossbow scope that I have to let new batteries stay on for at least 24 hrs before it is usable. It is just too bright and washes things out otherwise.

Tripplebeard, a starburst light pattern with bright lights is a known side effect of lasic surgery. My son is bedeviled with it with oncoming headlights. No doubt the light is brighter than you need.

The battery on my Primary Arms Red Dot is supposed to last 50,000 hours. I have had it for 4 years and still on the original battery. I don't leave it on all the time.

Makes sense. If some of the manufacturers would make a lower brightness setting life would be good. All of my tasco PDP2’s, 3’s, and pro dots have a low enough setting that the dots are crisp and clear. Same with my ultra dots. Low batteries fixes the issue for me on entry level red dots. The biggest issue I have with current red dots is finding “clear” glass like the old tasco pdp3’s has on them around 1990. You could use them with low to no light. Most dots now a days are either tinted and are too dark in low light hunting. The ultra dot match dots Have almost zero tint and the older tasco pdp2 and 3’s don’t either if you can find them. The AT3 wasn’t bad either if I remember.

[W.R.Buchanan]

OK I can't believe all the Negatives about this sight. NSB always complains about Parallax. I have 6 of them on Rifles and it has never shown up on any of mine. Just because you can move your head around behind the sight doesn't mean anything. You can't move your head around when it's mounted on a Rifle because your Cheek Weld holds your eye in the correct position behind the sight.

Also the dot will be nice and round IF your eye is looking directly down the centerline of the optic. Off to one side you get a blurry dot.

All of mine have in excess of 1-3000 rounds shot under them except my PCC which only has about 900 rounds thru it so far. None have changed Zero, none have Cacked, none have even killed the battery, because I turn them off when not in use. You don't gain anything by leaving a sight turned on when the gun is in the safe.

The standard going price for these sights is $79.95 or $119.95 with the riser for AR's. I got one on sale for $60 once from Cabela's.

If they were garbage the way some say,,, I would not own 6 of them! My oldest one was bought in 2006 and is on the Mini 14. My newest one was bought 4 years ago and was on my Kel-Tec Sub 2000 but now resides on my Ruger PCC.40.

I have one on my Mini 14 that has 3000 rounds thru it and that same gun killed a Weaver 1-4 in 25 rounds.
I have one on my Fight-Lite SCR 2000 + rounds
I have one on my Kel-Tec SU16CA 2000 + rounds
I have one with a Riser on my AR.1000 + rounds
I have one I mount on my Ruger Scout Rifle occasionally, but now on my 10/22. 500 in the Scout, 500+ in the 10/22
I have one on my new Ruger PCC.40 900 rounds so far.

All of these sights and guns have been sighted in exactly one time, except for the AR which I didn't tighten the mount enough, and it came loose so I had to do it again.

I usually put a Big White Line or Dot on the brightness dial so I can easily see when the sight is turned on or off.

These sights are solid performers and are the best bang for your optics buck out there. I actually have some real experience with these sights.

Hope this helps.

Randy

[Tripplebeards]

I can find the bushnell trs 25 torture test or the AT3 test(same rebranded optic) but here’s a new test...

https://youtu.be/C2QbQpexPBA

[W.R.Buchanan]

OK that test is just plain stupid.

The guy is shooting offhand and saying the optic is shifting zero? He doesn't look like he is that good, I think he was shifting zero!

But even after all that it still was working and held zero.

If you are going to treat your equipment like that then maybe you should buy an Aimpoint for $600+, and that way when you send it back to them after it breaks, they just give you the finger.

And so should any outfit that makes anything.

Randy

[Tripplebeards]

Randy, he did another video I can’t find now that he basically shot off a rest after dropping it several times, beating on it with a full water bottle and he submerged it water several times...and it still shot tight groups dead center, never fogged, and never failed. Yes, this video was stupid but show the the cheap Bushnell/AT3 td50(same optic rebranded) can take a beating and still work.

[tomme boy]

The Bushnell is in two colors for the writing. The older white lettering was supposed to be built better than the Yellow writing. And there is a font difference too. I think all the fake Bushnells out there are with the yellow writing. The fakes have the almost exact same font as the real Bushnell dots. It is getting hard to figure out what is real and what is not.

[winelover]

Lloyd: Did you try new battery in the SPARC? Mine went wonky, when battery was low.

Almost all of the inexpensive red dot sights, I've tried are too bright, for dawn/dusk hunting. Even UltraDot is marginal......I never set mine above the lowest setting.

The best/expensive red dot sights are fully automatic, in terms of compensation for ambient light. Even better when the don't have batteries to go dead. Those are the reasons I am willing to spend the $$$ on Trijicon's. They are akin to a revolver..........just pick up and ready for use. No safety/switches to manipulate.

I recently purchased a Vortex Venom for a Ruger Mark IV 22 pistol, based on the good reviews and lifetime warranty. Right out of the box, I couldn't get the battery cover on when installing the supplied battery. Not enough exposed threads to engage, when battery is in place. Had to call customer service to resolve this common issue. This is not acceptable on a $250 sight.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1016291942



BTW, the rotating rheostat dial on the one and only TRS-25, I own is very stiff to turn. A woman would find it almost impossible.


Winelover

[Lloyd Smale]

ran into that with a 332 burris prism. On the lowest red setting it would blind you in low light. It was usuable on the lowest green setting but could have even been less bright on that setting. I wonder if its a matter of having to work in bright daylight. Most scopes with dots that work well (are dim enough) in low light don't work at all in bright light.

Funny thing about too bright of settings....I have an illuminated crossbow scope that I have to let new batteries stay on for at least 24 hrs before it is usable. It is just too bright and washes things out otherwise.

Tripplebeard, a starburst light pattern with bright lights is a known side effect of lasic surgery. My son is bedeviled with it with oncoming headlights. No doubt the light is brighter than you need.

The battery on my Primary Arms Red Dot is supposed to last 50,000 hours. I have had it for 4 years and still on the original battery. I don't leave it on all the time.

[Lloyd Smale]

I don't see anyone bashing the real thing. But the clones are not as good and even with a real one your talking a 70 dollar sight not a 500 dollar aimpoint. There good but there not as good as the better ones. I use them but anymore think that the 25 dollar difference between a trs25 and a Romeo 5 is a no brainer. Battery life measured in years instead of hours and with auto on your not fumbling with switches when things go bump in the dark and insures when you need it the batteries are dead because you left it on. Doesn't matter much in the safe and you can turn them completely off but for the gun your going to grab in the middle of the night when your heart is in your throat being on all the time is a big advantage. But if you like switches and are as cool as john wick under pressure then you can still use the switches on a Romeo. Just the fact that the trs25 has a one year warrantee and the sig Romeo has a lifetime no question warrantee makes it a REAL no brainer. Other then 25 bucks tell me ONE advantage to a trs25 over a Romeo? If the difference was a hundred or two I could see it. Used to be we had our choice between a 70 dollar trs25 and a 500 dollar aimpoint. Now we have sigs and vortex's and others that bridge that gap and even bushnell has realized the trs25 is behind the times and is offering a newer better model with actually some battery life. But if all you have is 75 bucks PERIOD theres nothing under a 100 that's any better.

OK I can't believe all the Negatives about this sight. NSB always complains about Parallax. I have 6 of them on Rifles and it has never shown up on any of mine. Just because you can move your head around behind the sight doesn't mean anything. You can't move your head around when it's mounted on a Rifle because your Cheek Weld holds your eye in the correct position behind the sight.

Also the dot will be nice and round IF your eye is looking directly down the centerline of the optic. Off to one side you get a blurry dot.

All of mine have in excess of 1-3000 rounds shot under them except my PCC which only has about 900 rounds thru it so far. None have changed Zero, none have Cacked, none have even killed the battery, because I turn them off when not in use. You don't gain anything by leaving a sight turned on when the gun is in the safe.

The standard going price for these sights is $79.95 or $119.95 with the riser for AR's. I got one on sale for $60 once from Cabela's.

If they were garbage the way some say,,, I would not own 6 of them! My oldest one was bought in 2006 and is on the Mini 14. My newest one was bought 4 years ago and was on my Kel-Tec Sub 2000 but now resides on my Ruger PCC.40.

I have one on my Mini 14 that has 3000 rounds thru it and that same gun killed a Weaver 1-4 in 25 rounds.
I have one on my Fight-Lite SCR 2000 + rounds
I have one on my Kel-Tec SU16CA 2000 + rounds
I have one with a Riser on my AR.1000 + rounds
I have one I mount on my Ruger Scout Rifle occasionally, but now on my 10/22. 500 in the Scout, 500+ in the 10/22
I have one on my new Ruger PCC.40 900 rounds so far.

All of these sights and guns have been sighted in exactly one time, except for the AR which I didn't tighten the mount enough, and it came loose so I had to do it again.

I usually put a Big White Line or Dot on the brightness dial so I can easily see when the sight is turned on or off.

These sights are solid performers and are the best bang for your optics buck out there. I actually have some real experience with these sights.

Hope this helps.

Randy

[Tripplebeards]

I killed a good 4 PDP3’s back in the early 90’s on my buck mark 22 Lr target pistol and colt anaconda. The adjustments just get stuck inside and don’t adjust anymore. The dot always still came on on and never came out of zero though. I set up my match dot ultra dot sights on both pistols two years ago. After tightening down my sights on the anaconda and shooting it about 20 sometimes I saw it slid. I remember that’s what was happening with the tascos as well. I made sure to use blue Loctite as usual but I took them apart and sprayed 3M77 adhesive inside the rings and let them dry first and then put them back together. Im sure the red dot won’t slip now. I did not do this with the 22lr buckmark as I’m sure it won’t have enough recoil to come loose..

I remember when I was looking at the TRS 25s a couple years ago they were 30 some bucks all over eBay and Amazon. I would assume those were the knock offs? I called Buchnell at the time and they told me they changed manufactures (countries where were getting them). It seems like everybody like the older white lettered ones better and had issues with the newer yellow branded optics. I don’t remember which one Buchnell flip-flopped from but they went from Japan to China or visa versa when they made the switch. AT3 filled me in more on the history since it’s exact same rebranded red dot

[W.R.Buchanan]

I guess I've just had good luck with mine. But NO failures with 6 in 15 years of shooting them indicates something.

Also if I am buying anything on line I always look at the Reviews and when there is 250+ reviews and the product is at 4.8 stars it is a pretty good indicator that the product is decent.

I never said you should go to war with one, but I have to say that if I was pushed into fighting with what I brung, I would feel confident with this sight, and also the backup I have in my pocket just in case.

This is a pic of my HD gun. Note there is no Optic on it? just a Light and a Tritium Bead on the front.

Randy

[brstevns]

Well I think I am going to order a trs25 from Wally World. Should get the real thing that way.

[Duster340]

I think you'll find it will serve you well.

Be well

[Lloyd Smale]

well like I said I sent my vortex sparc that's about 10 years old in because the brightness would no longer adjust. Today about 2 weeks later I got a brand new one back by the brown truck. After the warrantee hastle I had with my 3200 elite scope I have to wonder what bushnell would have told me if I sent in a 10 year old trs25.

[Tripplebeards]

That’s why I always tossed my old tasco red dots back in the early nineties when they failed... I don’t believe they ever had in their warranty papers to send them back to Japan for repair.lol

[fatnhappy]

. Even a vortex for a few more dollars then that is a better bet. Both have lifetime warrantees

and I had to use it. I bought a brand new vortex viper, mounted it on my mini-30 and promptly had to pull it and send it back. at the first range session it winked out from recoil, every shot.
They replaced it.

the replacement does the same thing.

I'm none too happy at the moment. 3rd time is the charm I guess.