Bushnell TRS-25 - Reviewed

[Hokus Grey]

Well, after running my CZ-858 with the Bushnell TRS-25 red dot through Tactical Response's Fighting Rifle course, I have to say that the critics were right. The first day of the course it rained; a lot. We ran the course through 2-3 hours of steady rain and high humidity and patchy rain throughout the day, the optic held zero well through 1000 rounds that I put through the rifle that day.

Problems occurred the next day, as the temperature warmed up, it was evident that moisture had gotten into the optic and there was a halo of fog on the interior of the sight glass that obscured the red dot beyond visibility.

I have to say that for range work, this optic was fine, but in the mud and rain, it just didn't hold up.

This was my first experience in training with a rifle in the rain, but I suspect there was little I could have done.

Nearly all of the Bushnell TRS-25's that guys were running had the same issue. I counted 3 including mine.

Looks like I'll invest in better optics for my fighting rifle, and exercise better care in the future. This is what happens when you take your gear out of a controlled environment and into the elements. That's what training is for.

Thanks!

 

[KDX]

Thanks for the info. Was anyone running a SPARC?

 

[Hokus Grey]

Thanks for the info. Was anyone running a SPARC?

There was one guy running one, he didn't complain, so I assume he had no issues.

But, I gotta say, if you want to check your gear take one of these courses. lol We found more than a few gun parts while doing range clean up and the end of each class. Real nice rifles failing right and left. The VZ's all ran flawlessly, I only had 2 light primer strikes in 1500ish rounds, I attribute that to hard primers on surplus ammo.

The rifle mods were the weak link for me. My AR stock adapter came loose, so I took it off and added more loc-tite. Then the buffer tube came loose, so same deal. That said, one guy had his factory folder come loose, but when you're hammerring 1000 rounds through your rifle, you're gonna find the weak spots. lol

 

[Mr.4x4]

Good to know! I still have my TRS-25 on mine with about 2000 rounds through it. I was doing some gun n' run type course and smacked the front glass lense really hard face first into a barrier. It held zero and is still very clear to see out of even though the glass lense seemed to split in layers like shale rock does. I'm going to beat it the sh!t out of it till failure as I have another new one zeroed and ready to go on the rifle. I'm interested to know if there is anyway to water tight these a little better with some goop applied to the seams?

 

[Can-down]

Are these sold as water proof or at least rain proof?

Is it covered under warranty?

 

[MikeAH]

Hmmm maybe I will go with the Strike Fire then good info on the TRS

 

[m39a2]

I know it's kinda old fashioned in this 21st century, but whats wrong with the iron sights? Water doesn't effect them, they don't fog up and you have to smack them really hard to make them not work!

Scott

 

[millwright]

I was also one of the people that had the fog issue develop.Took mine off and used iron sights for the rest of the 1st course and the 1st day of the second.I had the red NEA/NEIT front post sight and found it great at close range but at 150 yds it was blocking out the target,after 150 it wasn't too bad as you had to hold over the target for the football like path of the 7.62x39.Used a SPARC on my other rifle to finish the course and it functioned fine but then we never got rained on during the day.The night before was another story.Red dot was easier to use as you only had to focus on the dot and target not rear sight,front sight, target. These have the V rear sight not a peep so sighting to me is not the easiest.But in the sights defense there was another gentleman there that had no problem hitting the 200 yd gong very regular with a folding stock CZ and stock irons. Sorry for the run on sentence

 

[Can-down]

I know it's kinda old fashioned in this 21st century, but whats wrong with the iron sights? Water doesn't effect them, they don't fog up and you have to smack them really hard to make them not work!

Scott

Nothing wrong with iron sights but optics can be nice for people with poor eyesight or in poor lighting conditions.

 

[Satain]

Try Insight MRDS if you want a high quality optic that won't let you down. Talk to Armtac on here to get you 1.
Also this should remind all the people out there "don't believe hype" as you get what you pay for especially when it comes to optics & the quailty that they offer.

 

[Hokus Grey]

I don't mind shooting off the irons on my CZ at all. Great accurracy out to 100 yards and after that it's not bad. Just figured I'd give a review of my experiences.

Looking at the manual it does say to make sure battery cap and adjustment screw covers are tight, which I did, it also says to wipe the optic off after it gets wet, which I did as well. The glass was clear in the morning and only started to fog up once the air and the rifle heated up.

Guess there really is no substitute for an Aimpoint.

 

[Can-down]

Guess there really is no substitute for an Aimpoint.

...or at least a lifetime warranty if it's a cheaper optic.

 

[millwright]

Warranty doesn't help when your in the field(hunting) and your optics are down.

 

[Can-down]

Warranty doesn't help when your in the field(hunting) and your optics are down.

No it doesn't. Insurance doesn't put out a fire or stop accidents either.

If you think about it back up sights are not out of the question or impossible to implement with a little forethought.

 

[millwright]

Yep BO sights will always be there and adjusted correctly before hand.

 

[saskcop]

Warranty doesn't help when your in the field(hunting) and your optics are down.

I agree 100%. On a positive note with the Bushnell though, I have two, one of which is on my CZ858, and it has seen rain, snow, mud, etc. and has never fogged. I keep a spare one ready to go just in case though which is easy to do when they are so inexpensive. I think that everyone would love an Aimpoint, but not everyone is prepared to dump that kind of coin either.

 

[Stevo]

FWIW, my son was in the same class as Hokus and also used a TRS-25 in the exact same weather conditions, but on a 10/22.

His was fine, which makes me wonder if the extra bit of heat that gets into the sight from a VZ rail makes a difference in the internal condensation.

 

[saskcop]

FWIW, my son was in the same class as Hokus and also used a TRS-25 in the exact same weather conditions, but on a 10/22.

His was fine, which makes me wonder if the extra bit of heat that gets into the sight from a VZ rail makes a difference in the internal condensation.

Good point, I never thought of that. There would be a lot more heat with the Cz/Vz platform. I have run mine through everything, but I don't think I have had to heat it up like you would in a class where there is continual shooting and a lot of heat stress on the site.

Seems to me, this sounds like we/someone needs to do a torture test ...

 

[Stevo]

The rail doesn't get that hot that I'd say it's stressing the sight. I think the combination of heavy downpours, low temperatures, and the rail/sight being warmer than ambient may have something to do with it more than just heat.

Or, the sights leak from a design or user (caps not tight) issue. I know the caps on my boy's gun were tight because I did it myself. Knowing the guys involved who had sight issues, I'd be very surprised if all of them didn't have the caps on right.

 

[5440fight]

Could be the case. Plus vibration, heat. Mine works great, (just changed mine to trs-25, better co-witness) but I've never shot in anything but a sprinkle.