I have been saving a bit and have some money stashed away for a new toy or toys. Decided I am going the NV route. Settled on pvs14 gen 3 unless anyone can give me a better option.

First, where is the best place to buy? I have seen them range from 2900ish out to mid 3k from various places. Second, does mounting an ir laser on a free float rail cause poa/poi shift if you tense up on a sling,etc? Can you mount them further back on the rail where it moves less? If these are stupid questions I apologize. I am just starting to look into this and there is a lot to take in.

TNVC is the go-to. I would also keep an eye on the NVG section in EE. I picked my pvs-14 up there for about $1800. The Dbal dual and IR lasers go for $500-550ish in EE. I like mine so far.

You can start with regular USGI stuff, but it's wobbly and it will piss you off. If anything, spend money on a good rhino mount, and you can use a $100 ach with an upgrade strap system.

I'd also suggest cruising EE for an IR/white light combo weapon light. Using the IR light is a huge game changer inside or on cloudy nights.

Regarding the handguard wobbling, I wouldn't worry too much about it, and haven't had problems with mine. The military has using non-free float RAS handguards for decades and they still get the job done with their lasers.

You'll be able to make steel silhouette hits out to 100 comfortably, past that is starting to push it a bit without magnification. The bloom that ends up on the target (depending what the surface is) can get to be a little much, plus the IR flashlight is only going to be effective so far away.

If you can, try to link up with somebody in your hometown forum and go check out and test their setup. It's kind of like everything else in life, you pay for comfort, and it can get really expensive when you start adding all the little nick-nacks.

I advise against going with a unit that has a Harris manufactured tube for the fact it seems like Harris either really let go of the quality standards that ITT and also Exelis held their products to or they fired all of the employees that worked for ITT/Exelis that were experienced and knew what they were doing and hired a bunch of new technicians and engineers who have very little experience in manufacturing image intensifiers. I have seen more Omni 8 era Harris Tubes that have gone to air than any other tube from any other era, besides the first 10160 contract tubes that the Military bought from Intevac in the late 80's which had a very insany high failure rate doing to tubes going to air. in the pictures below one can see the sloppy construction of tubes made by Harris as compared to ITT, from back when it was ITT, Exelis, and  also L-3. the order from left to right in the pictures is ITT, Exelis, Harris, and L-3 on the far right. These are all tubes from mx-11769 format tube assemblies. All work Fine except for the Harris tube which has gone to air due to the increadibly sloppy job done when sealimg the tube with indium. You can see where the indium comes out of the seams that are supposed to be sealed with indium. Every Harris made tube ive ever depotted had these super sloppy indium seals. just really low quality work and i wouldnt buy a new tube from Harris for that reason alone.

I'll add a +1 for TNVC

I did a lot of research while I was working overseas and when I got back I ended up with an L3 Omni VIII that matched what I needed in an NV device

I've been very impressed with TNVC to say the least...they are great with questions,  educating you and making the whole experience first class

When I get back from this assignment I will be looking to them for a thermal purchase, they've earned my business and then some

Z

Right now JRH has their Gen 3 Harris PVS 14 HP+ on sale for 2999 with a 10 year warranty which is a screaming deal.
http://www.jrhenterprises.com/PVS14-High-Performance-HP-Pinnacle-Autogated-Night-Vision-PVS14.htm