Bushnell RXS-250 Reflex Sight: Tested

Sometimes coaches can be tougher on kids they know, and parents who are coaches can be tougher on their own kids than other children. That’s how I felt as I looked at the beat-up red dot sitting on my desk.

For the Bushnell RXS-250, “pristine condition” was many miles in the rearview. Its fit and finish was now scarred by gouges, scrapes and dings. During the evaluation of Bushnell’s new reflex sight, I realized that I’m harder on gear from companies that I know, more so than companies I simply do business with. I have a long-standing relationship reviewing Bushnell’s products, but it correlates with the fact that I was tougher on my kids than other kids when I coached. If I have a personal relationship with you, that means I have expectations of you.

This optic test was no different. I had expectations going in. It’s one thing to bring an optic to market and let people know that it basically fits into a price point, but it’s another thing to suggest that you can bet your life on it.

That’s what Bushnell did with the RXS-250 from day one. Their representatives were adamant that this optic wasn’t just filling a price point. This optic was meant to swim in the deep end. Before I move on, let me tell you the story of my introduction to the new reflex sight.

I received a test sample at a Bushnell-sponsored media event last year. The event was at Gunsite, in the summer, which means that it was hot outside. The Arizona sun is unforgiving, but Gunsite is a great place to test equipment’s sensitivity to dust, heat and tired hands.

I mounted an RXS-250 to a Glock 17 MOS, which has the same footprint to accept Leupold’s DeltaPoint Pro ($400). Manufactured from cast aircraft aluminum, the red dot is robust and weighs 1.4 ounces. That’s actually lighter than expected. Trijicon’s RMR ($649) weighs 1.17 ounces. Leupold’s Delta Point Pro comes in around 2 ounces. The Bushnell RXS-250 looks beefier than both of them.

The shape of the optic is similar to the RMR, but the housing is flat on top, and the glass angles inward from the bottom to the top, allowing the vulnerable top edge of the hood to provide maximum protection. The inside of the optic body is machined clean, and there are drain holes on each side so that the optic can shed water and keep the emitter unobstructed. The glass is clear with very little blue tint present. There’s no distortion at the edges, and it really is a 1X with no magnification of the target.

The red dot is a crisp 4 MOA reticle. Between the glass and the emitter, the RXS-250 punches way above its price point, offering a cleaner sight picture than more expensive options. There are 10 brightness settings, and if I had an early gripe about the optic, it’s that anything under 6 is too dim for use in any condition besides near-darkness. At setting 7, the dot is in its sweet spot; it’s bright enough for outside use under the sun, but not too bright for inside work. The settings are adjusted through rubber buttons located on either side of the housing. “Up” is on the left, and “down” is on the right. I should note, the very low settings worked well with my admittedly dated PVS-14 night-vision monocular.

There is a total sight adjustment range of 100 MOA available in the RXS-250, but mine only required a few clicks to the right for a 15-yard zero on my Glock. The adjustments are a coarse 1 MOA per click, and the elevation screw is mounted on the top of the rearmost portion of the optic. The windage screw is on the right side. The adjustments are tight, with a satisfying and tactile click.

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The battery compartment is accessible from the top, which accepts the common coin-screw cap to keep the CR2032 battery in place. That battery is predicted to give the optic around 50,000 hours of runtime at setting 5. At setting 7, I’ve gotten just more than 10 months of runtime out of it. That seems like a huge battery difference, but as noted earlier, 7 is much brighter than 5, and I had disabled the auto-shutoff feature, keeping it continuously-on for all 10 months. Another disclaimer is that the battery was in the unit when I received it, and it could have been in there for a week or several months; I don’t know. My RXS-250 has a serial number of “000005.” I would expect that the production units with fresh batteries should be good for around a year, even at setting 7 based on this experience.

At Bushnell’s Gunsite event, I put more than 1,000 rounds through the optic-equipped pistol. I dropped it on concrete and bricks several times and racked the slide using the optic against barricades. At one point, the optic appeared to go out, but retightening the battery cover fixed the issue. The optic never lost zero.

I took the RXS-250 home and have mounted it to several pistols, including another Glock and a SIG Sauer P320. During this period, I was rough on it. There were several more drops on concrete and dirt, and more racks against wood and steel posts. Between the two pistols, it also ate another 2,000 rounds of 9mm, including some of the new Federal Punch defensive loads. After one nasty drop onto concrete, the zero did shift about 5 inches low at 15 yards. I readjusted it and moved on; it didn’t happen again.

I am still an active police officer, so I am limited by policy as far as what I am allowed to carry on and off duty. That being said, I would have no reservations about carrying the Bushnell RXS-250, and no reason keeping me from recommending this optic. In fact, at its price, I am hard pressed to find a better option!

The story doesn’t end here either. I think serial number 5 is going to live mounted on my Ruger PC9 carbine. I use that rifle to teach new shooters, so I need an optic I can trust.

Bushnell RXS-250 Reflex Sight Specifications

• Power: 1X
• Reticle: Dot, 4 MOA
• Length: 1.9 in.
• Width: 1.2 in.
• Height: 1.1 in.
• Weight: 1.4 oz.
• Materials: Aluminum, glass
• Finish: Anodized, matte black
• Adjustment Range: 100 MOA; 1 MOA per click
• MSRP: $250
• Manufacturer: Bushnell, 800-423-3537, bushnell.com