Frankly

All the places I've been people have told us the ranges to the long distance targets so people without RFs weren't at a disadvantage but I don't know how other matches may be run. I've never brought my RF to a 3G match though, never felt the need. Yeah the ranges the manufacturers list are "optimal" not always realistic. Basically you look at reviews for good brands and decide how much you can afford. There are no bargains or $200 RFs that are better than $400 ones, and $1200 ones are that much better. A popper at only 300 yards is not always going to be readable depending on light, ground cover, contrast against the background, etc. Nikon also is making some nice rangefinders that have gotten good reviews. Once you get into it people will nerd out about beam angle, etc. and whether they will sync with your phone's ballistics calculator, etc. The forum below has an entire section devoted to RFs ~ SnipersHide.com forum will have some good deals because the long range guys are always upgrading to fancier gear so they often firesale good slightly used stuff. At least I did haha.

Leica Rangemaster CRF 2000-B $399 https://www.eurooptic.com/leica-rangemaster-crf-laser-range-finder.aspx really clear image, simple, more than enough for 1200 yards or less.

I'm not a serious competitor and I'm satisfied to maintain my abilities as I get older so sure, my Glocks are perfectly fine. I just really like my Atlas. Dryfiring it is fun because it's so damn nice. Anything that I don't use, from tools and toys to even good quality clothes I don't like and "heirlooms" I don't really care about get sold on eBay, Craigslist, or forums. I sell out of my junk drawer occasionally, I probably have a few hundred bucks of gun parts in that right now even after I got it down to zero. Yet even though I sell a lot of stuff every year, for many years now there is still a lot more stuff to sell! The clutter never decreases.... I just sold my least used gun last week because I realized that I owned 13 guns and perhaps that was unlucky. You also have to try to be immune to trends. I've been reading about PCCs for years now. When I start reading up on them I get closer and closer to buying one. But then I realize I don't need one and stop reading about them and the urge dies away. So AVOID TEMPTATION! If you don't keep reading about PCCs (or anything else) you can avoid them. If you really want to free up some Atlas Titan money simply downgrade your car?

Bought and sold a few but sticking with this old Titan Tactical 9mm ? Really like the looks, fits my hand, shoots well. Glock for HD, Atlas for shooting.

Yeah agreed plus they are not that easy to fly well without a lot of skill and practice. The skiing footage from drones is great but immediately after that crash their governing body banned even the best most professional drone companies, it's a dead issue. And I would probably want to shoot one down if it flew over my property and was spying/annoying. BUT they are pretty amazing if you're doing something creative with them. Seems to me that if you took top level shooters and staged a production, with a script and retakes so you could get it perfect... and fly the drone along a predetermined path of the shooter then you could make a really fantastic video. But not during an actual competition.

The photographer (creator) owns the copyright unless they've signed it away (usually to a big corporate employer like Getty). This is how a photographer (attempts to) makes money. If the photo is for news, art, personal, or education then it is fair for the photographer to use and distribute to others with the same purpose. The second the image is sold or used for advertising, public relations or commercial use there needs to be a property and model release. For instance if I go to Thunder Ranch and photograph Clint, I can shoot all day for my own jollies and the art gallery. But if I sell it to Remington for an ad, there needs to be a release. Of course we're talking about people with guns, it pays to be polite in all such matters. I'm not messing with Clint without getting his OK first whatever the purpose. ~~~ For adding sound you can get a small microphone and recorder that attaches discretely and captures better sound quality than off the cameras. Then in your editing software (Final Cut or Premiere) you can add the sound tracks and sync them up with the action from multiple camera sources. On my low end Mavic it will record the sound from the controller location (where your phone is) rather than from the whirling drone (which is worthless). ~~~ Here's world champion skier Marcel Herscher narrowly avoiding a large professional drone crashing too close for comfort. I saw this on TV watching the race, bizarre.

I'm a photographer but photographing at less than notable club matches can result in a lot of cold stares and evil eyes. Lots of people in law enforcement and the military don't want their photos circulated. Even the fuddy sporting clays guys are reluctant. Regardless of the terms and conditions. At "big" events people expect to be photographed and they let it slide. Cowboy action shooters like to show off too. Seems that to get decent images you have to get your drone in the proximity of the shooter. Not unsafely so but if you can't see expressions and details then it's pretty boring. And if you're that close you should get direct, personal permission or back off because they're not go to cooperate anyway. Even my little Mavic Pro (bottom of the line for acceptable footage) has props spinning powerfully enough to send you to the hospital without an eye or finger so be careful. Come to think of it a good rule of thumb might be if the shooter is wearing a shirt full of logos then they're fair game but if they're in a old T-shirt never mind?

I have two identical G19 G4s with springs and connectors, night sights, Magpul magwells and mags, kydek holsters... not too much money into them, same muscle memory, small enough to carry, large enough to shoot. Not that one would likely fail but two is one you know. Prior I had several Glocks customized and pimped with every aftermarket part... and while they were perhaps slightly more accurate off a rest, I don't see any difference in practice. Having a nice KKM barrel or tungsten guide rod won't matter and I regret falling for all that fanboy BS. They need aftermarket sights, DIY stippling, and either a lot of practice/breaking in or some trigger work. Keep it simple. I can send you my silly Glock parts box, probably $400 of bogus bullsheet tactickool aftermarket toy items left over from my experiments....

So which Dodge did you get?

??? Granted I now have an Atlas but even my $600 Springfield never burped with 10s of thousands of rounds of dreaded 9mm. And I'm not a competent gun cleaner much less mechanic.

In light of the new version of the original question, no doubt to me that my $500 Franchi Affinity is a tremendous bargain for a quality shotgun. Of course I spent more than it cost doing 3Gun mods but it's easy enough to swap back to a shorter tube for hunting, etc. One the absolute cheap side just get a $200 used 1980s-1990s Remington 870 with a shorter barrel. I wouldn't want a newer manufactured one, they rust in the box. It's a case where the Chinese clone is better quality. And not to push any rules but a good dog is 75% of home defense ?

I've had a couple of them now but think this Titan Tactical 9mm is the best yet, very happy with it. I'm selling my Titan 1911 because I always grab the 2011 version instead.

I first had the Midway bag and the shoulder straps blew out, complained on social media and "Jim" the owner sent me a new one. That I sold. I don't think you can make a good bag for that price. Now have a limited edition Viking Tactics double bag that is set up like the VooDoo but it's shorter so my shotgun sticks out of the top when I backpack it. I rather like it this way since I have a shorter, easier to handle bag that is easier to get up onto my back, easier in the vehicle and home in storage, and when I want to carry just my rifle it isn't flopping around. If it rains I'd be trash bagging it anyway. It's built like a tank with a real backpack harness. The ultimate might be the Eberlestock 3-gun set up. Their website is confusing but the premise is that you have a rigid sided backpack that opens from the back, with a plastic skid plate on the exterior back. This keeps your pistol, ammo, and other gear dry and out of the mud and dust. Then your rifle and shotgun cases strap to the sides of the packs, like you would with skis, so each case is separate and you can use them independently later. No extra flopping material and everything opens up and stays away from the mud, it can't even flop over. https://www.eberlestock.com/store/upranger http://www.eberlestock.com/store/sidewinder-rifleshotgun-case http://www.eberlestock.com/store/sidewinder-ar-rifle-case It's $440 when you're all done but you've already convinced yourself to drop $250 on a glorified floppy bag and $3000 on a modified Glock so just apply some more of that magical thinking ? I'm trying to rationalize it because maybe I could also use it with cameras, I like the idea of a rugged mud flap on the back of the pack. All the same the Eberlestock website sucks for all the money they charge, but their products are really solid, well built.

Around here I've spent most of my time in wet muddy bays created by pushing dirt out of the center. We put a higher path down the center and have lagoons running up both sides.

I don't have that much land but I designed a flowing trail that is good for hiking and biking (or horses, snowshoes, etc.) that integrates with the range. Keep that in mind, if you lay it out right you can make it a lot longer with snake curves and such. Also consider airgun/22 hunting opportunities where you're shoot in towards your property. Frankly(!) I'd be looking at how I could make a lane for long range stuff too, not that you need to shoot it all the time and can keep it on the down low. And yeah, don't broadcast it or people will sneak in. A game camera might be fun.

Not to be a nag but head over to SnipersHide.com and join the forum, 1000x more PRS stuff

Yeah they were doing security at the Duomo in Milan. The big churches and squares had a military presence beyond the police, sorry for not clarifying. The Vatican has the Swiss Guards of course. While the uniforms are a bit flamboyant and the laughing photos counterdicts, they all looked and acted serious and professional... I just catch them when they are unguarded.

Hi Jack, No this was a family thing, we're older adoptive parents and our baby is now 15 so we're trying to get as much memory time as we can, did the important culture/tourist sights. I never saw most of it before either. It's like living near Niagara Falls and not going. I worked in Europe for a spell and have stayed in smaller villages for weeks. In the future (like when she moves away) I'd like to go to explore Northern Italy and see if Beretta and the other fancy shotgun factories do tours/trap shooting. I hate trap shooting but I'd make an exception ? There are also guided boar hunts that aren't crazy expensive but sound like a lot of fun, in fact they eat a lot of boar and it's tasty. All the food in Italy tastes better, no kidding. If I were a higher level shooter I'd love to shoot a match over there but the hassles involved are pretty off-putting. I live 90 minutes from Canada but I'm not trying to shoot there either, just not worth it to me. ~~~ Saw a lot of SCARs with the military in the more secure areas. Their vehicles are really nice too, very rugged looking. Nice gear all around although I don't think the feathers are all that practical.

I know you're not supposed to photograph them but they have cool gear. The Milan cops had white gun belts and Kydex with Beretta 92s with polished blue base plates.

I just sold my Howa Bravo because I don’t have the range to shoot it, but all the instructors at my long range class were impressed and I outshot guys with Beregas and Rugers. Spend the $2k saved on ammo and training. Snipers Hide is the go to forum, also great classified ads there. I don’t think it gave up any shooting ability to the custom rifles but admittedly the expensive stuff is sexy.

NY's 7-round law got thrown out so we can have 10-rounders in real life. At least that's what's sold here. But my legal advice is worth how much it cost you. Trying to read those SAFE Act amendments hurts.

Thank you. I understand the practical answer... "My friend" could safely and prudently drive to wherever the match might be while maintaining a low key demeanor. Then he could shoot the match with all of the other shooters, including various LEOs, have fun, and safely and prudently drive home. And this seems to be the state of things now, I haven't found anything reliable enough to stand on. Even the authorities give different answers depending on the individual and perhaps phases of the Moon. The only really solid answer is to get out of NY (California, NJ, CT, Mass, etc.).

No offense but that's the kind of vagueness that I find whenever I look for answers. Say I want to shoot a 3gun match in neighboring Pennsylvania or Ohio. I have a NY State Pistol Permit for unlimited CCW from my County, good throughout Upstate NY North of Westchester county. But I have no other non-resident out of state permits. My understanding is that if I lock the pistol sans ammo in a hard case and put it in the trunk/rear of the vehicle away so I can not easily access it AND I have proof that I am heading to and from a shooting match with a paid receipt that I should be legal doing so. But I do not see this explicitly stated in anything I've read, it is only an assumption gleaned from reading dozens of documents, many of which are a decade or more old and possibly superseded with new more restrictive laws since written. Obviously it would be extremely rare to be caught in violation unless I had a terrible car accident or was absolutely stupid ~ and even then a decent law enforcement agent would probably tend towards my favor when possible ~ but still if I am violating the law I would like to know that I am! The current system makes it nearly impossible to know whether I'm breaking the law or not.