Cecil Harvey

They're also primarily of the age groups that are most likely to have fatalities and complications from COVID. And they're typically fairly wealthy and retired, so the economic effects of the shutdown don't effect them. Finally, their primary socialization is chatting over the air with people from far away from the comfort of their shack, so they don't suffer there either. I'm sitting pretty myself as well in this. I'm a software engineer that's consulting for a Fortune 500 healthcare company. I've been working from my spare bedroom since early March. I like video games, and have had more time recently because I no longer commute. Hell, I just found out that Cherry Ridge is open, so I can resume shooting this weekend. The only thing that's driving me crazy is the perfidious Cardinal in Newark has rolled over and suspended masses in the Archdiocese. My wife and kids aren't quite as well adjusted as I am to this -- they're all extroverts. And I don't see this as a left/right thing. I think it's based on who's most effected by it. Rich white liberals or people on the dole aren't effected, but people that work for a living in "non-essential" jobs are kinda screwed right now. Ordinary middle class people, small business owners, restaurant workers, etc.

@eesee - A couple of things: - Ham isn't an acronym, and isn't all-caps. It's just "ham". - You can't have private conversations on amateur bands legally. You can't send encrypted or obfuscated signals, period. Amateur radio is for public communication over the airwaves. Not entirely sure what level of privacy you're looking for, but honestly, the most private modes of electronic communication are internet protocols that support end-to-end zero knowledge encryption. - If you want your family to use the radios while not under your direct supervision, and care about being legal, FRS or GMRS is the way to go. Your amateur license gives you the right to operate on certain bands; that doesn't extend to your family, or anyone not directly being supervised by you. You must be the station operator. FRS is free, but limits the amount of power you need. A GMRS license is something like $75 for 8 years (don't remember all the details; I got mine 3 years ago), and it does extend to immediate family. You could set up a 50w mobile unit in your home and/or car, and give your family HT's, and you should be able to get over a mile, depending on conditions. And you should stop by a local club -- search online at the ARRL's website to find one near you. And yes, you should look for a mentor. In ham-speak that's referred to as an "Elmer" for historical reasons I don't know. Also, at my club, I'm in the bottom 5% age wise, and I'm in my mid 40's, and relatively new to the hobby. The old dudes are really great, but just be prepared for this reality.

Maplewood resident here. I just went through the process which is almost complete. I spent 2 weeks tracking down the detective who handles the process. He gave me the code to punch in to the online form. Criminal check and references went quickly. Then spent another two weeks trying to meet up with the detective so I could pay my $2 for the permit. Finally met with him last week. He said it would likely be another 1-2 weeks till I get my permit. Sucks that we still have to go through this process, but at least it's more transparent. Also, last time I applied, it took 5 months to get my permits. This time, from the time I filled out the online form to now is about 4 weeks. Assuming I get my permits next week, that's a 5 weeks instead of months. The real thing I don't understand is why they can't just collect the $2 via credit card and then send the permits to the police, rather than charge the police $2 per permit for a box of them in advance. That alone would have shaved 2 weeks off the process. I can't wait to get out of this hell-hole of a state. Wish my wife was on board. After the kids leave for college (still got plenty more years for that), I'm leaving this state with or without her. She can figure out how to pay for property taxes without my income.

I'm an NJIT alum who graduated in 2002. When I was a student, a friend of mine took me shooting on a few occasions, and I had a fantastic time. I would have continued to go shooting, except: I didn’t have a car I was a broke college student I graduated, paid off debt, bought a house, got married, had kids, and finally picked up the hobby again when I had the means. And I want to do for NJIT students what my friend did for me years ago. But I’d like to do it at a larger scale. I was inspired by Tony Simon's 2nd is for Everyone and Diversity shoots, and I'd like to give back to my alma mater in a particular way. I’d like to facilitate monthly range trips for NJIT students. I'm open to everything from an informal group that just gets a van to ride over from NJIT to Gun For Hire for quick safety instruction followed by an hour of rimfire, to a full blown club/school USPSA team. I'm also willing to foot some of the bill for this sort of thing, and seek other sponsors. I'd want this to be ideally no cost for students, at least first-timers. If not free, at least low cost. The thing is, I still hang out with some of my friends from those days, but despite the fact that I live only a few miles from campus, I've not kept any connection to the student body or alumni organizations at large. If there are any students or active alumni interested, and want to either form a club or do something informal, please reach out to me. I think if we want to win this fight long term, we need to get younger people from NJ who have zero exposure to guns to have positive exposure to the shooting sports. Lord knows that guns are demonized on virtually all college campuses. If I'm successful here, I'm happy to expand it to other schools in the area.

If you want to do USPSA production and IDPA SSP, I'd consider something basic. like a CZ-75B or CZ-75 SP01. If you want to go a little higher end, you could go with the SP-01 Shadow II. Whether or not you want to go with one of the models with the Omega trigger is personal taste. The real advantage is it's a simplified trigger mechanism that's easier to service. I don't like it as much as their more traditional trigger, but that's just preference.

All of the steel-framed ones. The polymer framed ones might be as well, I just haven't tried them. You still haven't mentioned your preferences, what USPSA division you want to shoot, or budget. I can't make recommendations based on "which one is good"

You can get CZ's with 10 round mags. Nothing in 15 though, typically, unless you want to have them pinned by a smith. You could always get a CZ or Tanfo in .45 like I did. Double-stack mags are 10 rounds regardless.

I'm exactly the opposite. When I first started shooting, I shot a 1911, a Glock 17, and a Sig P226. I couldn't get the hang of the 1911 grip (I know I'm wierd -- 1911's don't fit well in my hand, and I often fail to engage the safety, with the exception of Ed Brown bob tail's), I couldn't get the hang of separate double/single pulls of the sig, but the Glock was easy for me to shoot. So I was all about the modern polymer striker fire guns. Until I tried a CZ-75. That was just perfect in my hand. And my love of DA/SA all metal guns began. I wound up getting an SAO Tanfoglio Witness in .45, because the 9mm was 17 rounds. The offered a 10 round option, but the .45 is 10 rounds as well, and I really preferred the way .45 recoils in a heavy, steel frame gun better than 9mm. Every semi-auto that I really want now is patterened after the CZ. I'd love a Jerico 941, a CZ-75BD, one of the RAMI sub-compacts, some of the larger Tanfo guns, a Sphinx, etc. I'd also like a Beretta 92G at some point as well -- those are neat. And yeah, I have a S&W Shield that I carry whenever I leave the state, but that gun has no soul.

Funny, you're doing it the reverse of what most people do. 1911 or similar SAO for competition, simple polymer double stack striker fire for defense. If you've got 1911's you like, shoot a 1911. Get a competition belt and holster, shoot USPSA Limited 10 Major.

Budget? USPSA division? Do you prefer striker fired or Hammer fired? DA/SA or SAO? What other handguns do you like? Absent more info about what you're looking for, the best advice I can give you is this: https://np.reddit.com/r/guns/comments/118keg/this_is_a_list_of_the_guns_you_should_get_no_no/

Sorry I'm a bit late to the party on replying. I attended until about 1pm with a friend (I had a bachelor party to attend to, which did involve a range trip). The panels were of mixed quality, of what I saw. The best ones I attended were the NJ State Police rep and the community building panel. I thought both were too short. The identity theft protection one was real bad, boring, and was quite a bit of a sales pitch. I wish I could have stayed longer to see some of the other speakers later in the day. I attended last year's as well, and thought the talks were on average better. I remember them being longer and more detailed. If I can, I'll be attending next year as well. I'd love for there to be fewer talks, focusing on the higher quality ones. Thanks, @John Willett for putting this on!

We didn't hear anything on Saturday on 6m, though we checked a few times. My buddy got a dozen or so QSOs on Sunday morning, but I wasn't there for that. Maybe -- what do you have? I'm not sure exactly what budget I'm going to have over the next couple months. I think I'm joining Old Bridge Rifle and Pistol Club. That first year initiation fee is quite expensive.

I joined a friend do work a station on generator power in his back yard. It was a 3-man, 2 radio crew. We worked 40m, 20m, 10m, and 6m. At the end of the contest, we got a little over 200 QSOs. We had most of our success on 20m. We got some QSOs in Puerto Rico, California, Ontario, etc. It was my first time transmitting on HF; all I have is a cheap VHF/UHF HT and $10 SDR Rx dongle. The experience gave me some motivation to study for my general. 20m in particular was very open. We had the easiest time there.

I'm a recently minted technician. I'll be participating in the field day at a friend's place. He has much more experience and gear than I.

I'm sure Murphy will sign a bill requiring loudeners. And minimum loudness ratings on both guns and ammunition.