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Optics, Mounts, Rails and Sights If it aims your firearm, post about it here.

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  #1  
Old 01-24-2019, 6:11 PM
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Default Is the Bushnell TRS25 the best budget red dot?

I've got an inexpensive straight pull bolt action AR build that I have finally finished.

I'll mostly be using it for plinking and maybe some varmint hunting.

I'd like to put some sort of red dot on it and have read alot about the TRS25 as a great dot optic for the price.

For the money invested into the build I'm not looking for something very expensive.

I'm also torn between if I want something magnified...which leads me to the option of maybe just going with a good budget scope. $50-$150.

How well will a red dot work out to a certain distance? Say 100 yards?
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  #2  
Old 01-24-2019, 7:14 PM
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i have a couple. it works fine and holds zero. but it does get washed out in bright light so on sunny days, you may be better off with a cheapo scope.
this entirely depends on where you shoot tho. i only shoot at the range so it's always a very light tan dirt background. it would work much better against a darker background like grass

i have it on my ruger 10/22 so can't speak to anything at distance
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  #3  
Old 01-24-2019, 7:19 PM
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I have several of the trs25 red dots. Good little red dots. Primary Arms also has some good ones. If you want magnification, look into a 1x4.
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  #4  
Old 01-24-2019, 7:21 PM
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Red dot and magnification
https://www.primaryarms.com/primary-...flescope-pa14x
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  #5  
Old 01-24-2019, 7:22 PM
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"Budget" means different things to different people. It might be the best $60 red dot.
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Old 01-24-2019, 7:35 PM
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Budget red dot for plinking, sure, but not for varmint hunting.
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  #7  
Old 01-24-2019, 7:55 PM
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I've got a couple on 22s and one on a 30-30. I did put one on an AK and it only lasted about 50 rounds. Could have been a fluke. Battery doesn't last very long, but it works and is bright when it does. I wouldn't buy them at 90 bucks, but I'm happy with the ones I got under 50.
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  #8  
Old 01-24-2019, 8:12 PM
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Yes, on sale it's about the cheapest 'good' red dot you can get. On a good sale you can find them for around $50 to $60. An inexpensive UTG mount runs around $10.

I have a few that have held up very well. I've also had a couple duds I had to return. But the replacement ones were fine.

Primary Arms also has some good deals on their red dots as previously mentioned. Wait for them to go on sale.

The $120 Sig Romeo 5 at PSA is also a good red dot for the money. I've bought the Romeo 5 for as low as $90 on EBay.
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  #9  
Old 01-25-2019, 6:47 AM
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I owned a TRS25 for awhile and had it on my Ruger PC Carbine. It was a great RDS for the price and I never had any issues with it. If I had to complain about something it would be that it wasn’t the brightest in outdoor conditions when it sunny out. But you can’t beat it for the price. I eventually upgrade to a Holosun, but if the price is right I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another one
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  #10  
Old 01-25-2019, 6:56 AM
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Bushnell< Primary Arms < Sig < Holosun

Just my .02 I don’t mind the PA Micro dots and have set those as my bottom tier. I’ve owned a few over the years, and they’ve always been great
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  #11  
Old 01-25-2019, 8:21 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SquidBilly View Post
I've got an inexpensive straight pull bolt action AR build that I have finally finished.

I'll mostly be using it for plinking and maybe some varmint hunting.

I'd like to put some sort of red dot on it and have read alot about the TRS25 as a great dot optic for the price.

For the money invested into the build I'm not looking for something very expensive.

I'm also torn between if I want something magnified...which leads me to the option of maybe just going with a good budget scope. $50-$150.

How well will a red dot work out to a certain distance? Say 100 yards?
I've got one in a drawer at home. It's not on a rifle because of my astigmatism. For less than $100 the TRS-25 is probably the best you can do. I have moved to Holosun 510C (circle/dot) on both my AR pistols and my HD Shotgun. I love the auto on/off on these. I have had one of them for at least two years (can't remember which one it is) and the other two for more than a year and have not had to replace the batteries in any of them.
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  #12  
Old 01-25-2019, 11:41 AM
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I think it is OK, but for varmint hunting I'd go magnified. Varmints are small and depending on the time of year hard to see..
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  #13  
Old 01-25-2019, 8:56 PM
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I would also suggest the Vortex Sparc AR
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  #14  
Old 01-25-2019, 9:07 PM
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I won't buy another red dot without the auto-off and shake-on. Because I forget and batteries die.
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  #15  
Old 01-26-2019, 3:22 AM
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I have 2. One is great, and lives on the wife's AR, the other has quality problems with the front window. I should of sent it in for warranty work, but bought it while on an extended trip, and didn't unpack it until after expiration of the 1 year warranty. Thinking about replacing it with a Sig Romeo5 or a Holosun

For those who are interested AT3 makes a rubber cover for their RD-50 that perfectly fits the TRS-25, getting rid of the bikini scope caps.
https://www.amazon.com/AT3-Tactical-...BXP7NGHCQSAPHA

BTW the RD-50 looks like an improved TRS-25, with a claimed longer battery life and a lifetime warranty. Amazon reviewers say the build quality is a bit better than the Bushnell's. Cost a bit more, but may be worth the $ for the upgrades.
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  #16  
Old 01-26-2019, 9:28 AM
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Sig Romeo5 for $100 or $120 is a great deal. Lifetime, no questions asked, etc. warranty from a company you know will be around forever, years and years of battery life so you never have to turn it off (good if you're forgetful or have the gun for self-defense purposes), built very solidly, good clear dot. Nothing against the Bushnell--I had it and its a solid dot that will hold zero and get the job done--but the extra $50-60 is worth it.
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  #17  
Old 01-26-2019, 11:21 AM
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The TRS25 runs between $42-$52 bucks on Amazon.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00200E0...v_ov_lig_dp_it

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  #18  
Old 01-26-2019, 10:17 PM
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My trs25 still running great since 2011. It's been on several rifles and a 12ga, now sits on my AK.
Paid $70 at the time.
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Old 01-27-2019, 2:39 PM
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Had Bushnell TRS-25 on Browning Buckmark Contour .22LR, for about 3 years, I shoot the gun every week no problem at all. Have another one on Ruger PCC 9mm and shoot around 1K rds no problem at all. Had another one on SW22A1 .22LR but I don't shoot this gun often.
Had three and very happy with them, I bought all of them on Amazon in difference times and paid around $50-$60 each.
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  #20  
Old 01-28-2019, 8:42 PM
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So i tried something new today because i needed a new battery for my trs25. Instead of a 2032, i got two 2016 batteries. Same voltage but at half the thickness I'm guessing half the capacity. Put them in and its brighter but now it does have a slight flare to the edge even when turned down a bit. Ill have to get it out to the range on a sunny day to see how effective it really is. Regardless of how bright im pretty sure i just cut the battery life in half.
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  #21  
Old 01-29-2019, 7:03 AM
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You are overdriving your LED, which will shorten its life.
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  #22  
Old 01-29-2019, 7:15 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ekkthree View Post
So i tried something new today because i needed a new battery for my trs25. Instead of a 2032, i got two 2016 batteries. Same voltage but at half the thickness I'm guessing half the capacity. Put them in and its brighter but now it does have a slight flare to the edge even when turned down a bit. Ill have to get it out to the range on a sunny day to see how effective it really is. Regardless of how bright im pretty sure i just cut the battery life in half.
Two 2016 in series is 6v. More like 6.4v initially at peak load. Unless you can figure out a way to wire them in parallel then as mentioned above you are over driving your LED. I doubt the TRs25 has protective circuitry to avoid being over driven. Don’t do it. Not worth the inconvenience of getting more 2032s
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  #23  
Old 01-29-2019, 7:21 AM
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Yes i am. What im after is better daylight brightness not longevity. With this setup ill actually be buying more batteries. I'm willing to make that trade-off for more usability. And there's nothing precious about the Bushnell so we'll see how long the LED goes before it burns out
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Old 01-29-2019, 8:37 AM
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I managed to snag 3 one time when they were $55 with a $40 rebate. Best deal of my life.
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  #25  
Old 01-31-2019, 9:17 AM
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Ekkthree, I'm curious about how long it lasts! Please keep track!
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  #26  
Old 03-08-2019, 7:50 AM
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Like AreWeFree, I have two of the earlier versions of the TRS25 and they are way better than the newer versions. One of these has been on two AR's (5.56 & 6.8), a 10/22, a Buckmark and now resides on my Son's AR. The highest brightness setting on the newer models (11) equals about setting 5 on the older model. Snag one if you can find it.
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Old 03-20-2019, 10:19 AM
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$42.39 @ Amazon right now!
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00200E0HM
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Old 03-21-2019, 7:45 PM
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Still up for that price.
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  #29  
Old 05-04-2019, 10:28 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by k1dude View Post
Yes, on sale it's about the cheapest 'good' red dot you can get. On a good sale you can find them for around $50 to $60. An inexpensive UTG mount runs around $10.

I have a few that have held up very well. I've also had a couple duds I had to return. But the replacement ones were fine.

Primary Arms also has some good deals on their red dots as previously mentioned. Wait for them to go on sale.

The $120 Sig Romeo 5 at PSA is also a good red dot for the money. I've bought the Romeo 5 for as low as $90 on EBay.

Sold a rifle and had a trs 25 up top. Buyer asked if it worked and told him yes. Embarrassed to find out it didn’t work. It had two faint dots with new batteries.

I ordered mine through Amazon. How did you go about getting a replacement? I emailed Bushnell with my order number.
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Old 05-05-2019, 8:03 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by God Bless America View Post
I won't buy another red dot without the auto-off and shake-on. Because I forget and batteries die.
How about always on, like Aimpoint?
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  #31  
Old 05-05-2019, 10:27 AM
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update on the overdriven bushnell. it hasn't died, hasn't burned out, and still going strong. BUUUUTT, overdriving it did nothing to improve brightness. maybe there's a voltage limiter, dunno. continues to get washed out at angeles. by which i mean light tan background on sunny days. kind of a worst case scenario i suppose, but that's where i shoot the most.
to be fair, my vortex 1-8 gets washed out too. altho the vortex reticle is much larger than the red dot so it doesn't completely disappear. and i can just turn it off and have a solid black reticle, something i can't do with an rds.
different strokes and all that...
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Old 05-05-2019, 11:25 AM
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Mine is on a 12g 930jm pro, i've done multiple mag dumps etc and it's fine. If its on the top brightness itt might shut off once in a while
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Old 05-07-2019, 9:52 AM
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I did a carbine class this past Sunday. Two people were both running the trs25. Both of them experienced problems with their optic that day.
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  #34  
Old 05-07-2019, 10:21 AM
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I think if $129 shipped is considered budget... the HS503GU is the best budget RDS. I have two or three TRS-25's... and one is in use still. The HS503GU is more than twice as good IMHO and I like a circle dot.
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  #35  
Old 05-08-2019, 7:58 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crufflers View Post
I think if $129 shipped is considered budget... the HS503GU is the best budget RDS. I have two or three TRS-25's... and one is in use still. The HS503GU is more than twice as good IMHO and I like a circle dot.
Curious as to where you can get one that cheap. Most I'm seeing are $200+
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Old 05-08-2019, 8:57 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Joefear7 View Post
Curious as to where you can get one that cheap. Most I'm seeing are $200+
They were at that price for months and months at Botach, now looks to be out of stock. They have the green version for $179 and a red dot only version for $139... maybe the GU will come back.

Geesh the 507C is only $229 now. Might have to pick up another one.
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Old 05-08-2019, 9:05 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by baekacaek View Post
How about always on, like Aimpoint?
I turn mine off... easy enough. Easier than other RDS where you have to hold down a button or cycle through brightness with a chiclet button. Aimpoint PRO, the world's #1 bargain red dot.
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  #38  
Old 05-08-2019, 9:13 AM
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I bought 3 of them. Two were fine and another was a dud, so I returned it. IMO they aren't that nice and I should have spent a little more on a PA or Holosun dot.
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Old 05-08-2019, 9:20 AM
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I have one, they’re fine for rimfire rifle/pistol

Weaver micro red dot is another good choice for the $
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Old 05-08-2019, 9:23 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by triplestack3 View Post
I bought 3 of them. Two were fine and another was a dud, so I returned it. IMO they aren't that nice and I should have spent a little more on a PA or Holosun dot.
I had three, they all worked... never did side-by-side but i think the QC was good... at least they all seemed the same. I gave one away and it is being used on a Buckmark where most likely it'll stay until it fails. Mine is on an AR22... I think I have one on the shelf. I like them on .22's.
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