You're right about Mike Ferguson and guns, which is part of the reason why I describe him as a "pro-life moderate" (he's also very liberal on environmental issues). But remember that Congressman Garrett is the only NJ Congressman over the past what, 30 years?, that has had a pro-gun voting record, and I don't think Garrett would do well in a statewide run.
Mike Ferguson's lifetime ACU rating is 76, which is second-highest in the delegation (to Garrett's 100) and is in the ballpark of that of several moderate-to-conservative GOP Senators, such as Gordon Smith, Ted Stevens, Lisa Murkowski, Voinovich, Gregg, Lugar and Coleman, and far better than the two Maine RINOs. I wish we could elect a NJ Senator even more conservative than Ferguson, but other than Steve Forbes (who has celebrity and major moolah on his side) I fear that we don't have a solid conservative who could win. Ferguson may just be the "right-most electable candidate" for the U.S. Senate from New Jersey, and he would be a huge step up from the Keans and Allens and Whitmans and Frankses and Zimmers that the RINOs keep pushing (and which can't win Senate elections).
Ferguson might grab your guns, but at least he doesnt grab them and then point them back at you and your taxes. (Lautenberg)