In a world filled with black guns and tactical accouterments it can be hard to determine what’s good-to-go. With the aim of recommending truly squared-away configured firearms on a budget, I’ve been busy testing optics of late. Most recently, that time has been spent in the red dot arena. Aimpoint and Eotech are great optics—no doubt. I personally have an Aimpoint on my rifle. However, neither of those manufacturers are what I would consider “budget oriented.” When trying to balance cost with quality, Bushnell and Vortex are two manufacturers that begin to rise to the surface. Specifically, the budget-oriented shooter may be well served by paying special attention to Bushnell’s TRS-25 and TRS-32 and, in addition, Vortex’s Sparc and Strikefire. I believe all four of these options to be squared away red dot sights.
Today I’d like to highlight the merits of the Bushnell TRS-32 and TRS-25. The “32” and “25” refer to the diameter of the TRS series optics.
Both the TRS-25 and 32 are multi-coated, with amber-bright lens coatings. The TRS-25 boasts a 3,000-hour battery life. The TRS-32 operates at a comparable time. Both sights are constructed with coatings, gaskets, and o-rings to render them water proof, fog proof, and relatively shock proof.
Notably, the TRS-25 will dial all the way down to a 3 MOA red dot while the TRS-32 will go down to 5 MOA. (Roughly speaking—3 MOA means that the dot will cover three inches at 100 yards and 5 MOA means that the dot will cover five inches at the same distance.) Although these are the stats from Bushnell, subjectively, the TRS-32 reticle appears smaller.
My initial impression was favorable for both sights, but I wanted to get some hard use behind them and a second opinion. I used both optics for some several months; giving the TRS-25 the majority of the attention. I loaned the TRS-32 to friend from Hyatt Guns, that is active in 3 gun competitions and asked him to put her through her paces. After several weeks he brought the optic back with two thumbs up. For $80-$130 dollars these two little red dots are hard to beat.
