Bushnell introduced the TRS-26 which is the successor of the widely used TRS-25. While the TRS-25 red dot was (and is) a great red dot sight, it had one big downside. And that is the battery life.
What’s new compared to the Bushnell TRS-25?
The battery life on the TRS-25 was roughly 3,000 hours. This does sound reasonable at first glance but other sights in the market were able to get double that or more.
Bushnell addressed this with the TRS-26 red dot sight. The sight has a longer battery life of more than 10 times that of the TRS-25. You get 50,000 hours out of a battery. That’s roughly 5 years between having to change the battery!
To improve battery life compared to many other budget red dot optics, Bushnell opted to add a user-selectable auto-off timer. This switches the sight off automatically after it hasn’t been used for the selected time.
Other red dot optics from other rifle optics manufacturers sport battery life that compares to that but typically you have to pay quite a bit more. The TRS-26 is priced around the same as the Bushnell Trophy TRS-25, maybe a tad higher. It overall is still one of the best affordable red dot sights you can get!
The other significant change to the TRS-25 is that there’s no dial anymore. Instead, adjustments are all made through a push-button interface. To ensure that the Bushnell TRS-26 red dot sight is as rugged (if not more) than its predecessor, Bushnell has sealed the buttons to the elements to prevent dust or water to be able to penetrate the sight.
Should you pick a holo sight or rifle scope instead of a red dot?
Features
The Bushnell TRS-26 red dot sight improves on the TRS-25 as mentioned above. All the great features that the TRS-25 has, are also to be found in the new model. An alternative that might be of interest could also be the Dagger Defense DDHB or the Holosun Paralow HS503.
The objective lens is a tiny bit larger and is now 26 mm in diameter with clear glass to help to acquire your target faster and in pretty much all lighting conditions. The optic is sturdy with a shockproof construction and is nitrogen purged for fog proofing.
This budget red dot allows for fast target acquisition and reliable performance. It’s an excellent optic with industry standard quality and features.
The Bushnell Optics TRS-26 red dot sight itself is still very compact (comparable to the compact build of the Sig Sauer Romeo5) and usable on pretty much any kind of gun, whether it’s a hunting rifle or a handgun.
It is close to a perfect match for your AR-15. You’ll have a hard time finding a better AR optics than the TRS-26.
The red dot measures 3 MOA. The clear bright dot has a 3 MOA dot and makes this sight usable on a variety of firearms and uses. It’s a great sight to use for close quarter shooting and home defense.
As mentioned above, you can expect the battery life to be 50,000 hours which is more than 5 years between having to change the battery. The battery used is a standard and readily available CR2032 button cell that you also find on many other red dots.
The brightness settings are adjustable within 12 levels. This enables you to set the level to match the surrounding light. When you keep the brightness setting too high in low light settings you will get a blurry dot which makes it hard to target accurately.
The Bushnell Trophy TRS-26 is built as tough and durable as the predecessor was and is. The TRS-25 was known to have those attributes and the new model at least matches them. Bushnell continued to build the sight with a single piece tube. That way the highest level of durability and sturdiness is guaranteed.
The sight can be combined with the Bushnell Transition 3x magnifier. You should also have no problems using one of the other available magnifiers for red dot sights from other manufacturers.
Technical Details/Features
The Bushnell AR Optics TRS 1×26 red dot sight outperforms its predecessor and many, if not most, other red dot sights available today. It’s a good fit to be your red dot optic on your AR-15 or as the optic you use on an AK 47.
Many of the more expensive red dot optics today, for the most part, justify the higher price through more features and long battery life. The TRS-26 matches or surpasses those features at a low price that is affordable for pretty much everyone!
- 3 MOA Red Dot
- 1x Magnification
- All optics are multi-coated
- Brightness of dot adjustable
- Fixed Parallax
- Unlimited Eye Relief
- Waterproof
- Shockproof
- Fogproof
- Battery lifetime of up to 50,000 hours (CR2032)
Conclusion
The Bushnell TRS-26 Red Dot 1×26 sight is a great scope for pretty much any shooting style and weapon. It’s a worthy successor of the TRS-25 in any respect.
The improvements made by Bushnell are making this one of the best red dots available. Specifically, when you consider the price point there’s pretty much nothing that would beat this sight.
The image quality is by no means worse than that of any other sight you can get. The sight is parallax-free and will hold all settings and zero through many shot rounds.
For longer distances, you should consider using a magnifier for the sight. If you combine it with the 3x Transition Magnifier from Bushnell then you should have no problems to accurately acquire targets in the medium distance ranges. You can also use many other red dot magnifiers if you want. We have a review of the best red dot magnifiers ready for you to read.
You won’t be disappointed to get this sight as it’s sturdy and rugged. It will last you for a long time and help you acquire targets quickly and reliably.
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