Ok...so those who know me understand that I'm a natural-bron skeptic.  If something appears to be true...it must be!  No more to that story...at least until recently.  You see I've been in the market for a new shotgun...something really nice.  I was looking first at all the "B" guns (Beretta, Benelli, and Browning for those not familiar with sporting firearms) and also Caesar Guerini.  So, for those who know, you well understand that I was looking to lay out around $3K for a nice shotgun.  Then, one night as I was rolling my way through the listings on GunBroker.com I com across a REALLY good looking gun with a name I've never heard of...Thomas Ferney & Co.  I mean this gun looked

G   O   O  D!!!  It's price tag was also well within the range of what I'd have paid for any of the aforementioned brands.  Only issue was that I knew nothing about them and couldn't find any reviews on line.  So, with that in mind I contacted the company, thinking that some lower-level functionary would respond to my request for information.  But what I got instead was the president of the company, a Mr. Chris Handy contacting me and reassuring me that his product, while not well known (yet) would  "eat the lunch" of any comparably priced "B" gun in both quality and performance. Now if there's one thing I've come to appreciate in business it's confidence. So, a deal was struck, with the understanding that if the transaction wasn't good for both sides we could part as friends with no harm done.  So, before ever getting the firearm, Chris sent me some of their soft goods to look over...range bags, gun cases, cartridge bags, etc.  I was very impressed...heavy duty leather that was well stitched and not hard like concrete...I mean, really nice stuff!  So, with that experience under my belt I awaited the arrival of the firearm.  Chris told me that although the guns are made in europe (all hand engraving on the receivers) they are finished here, and that his stock guy needed to know how I wanted the stock and fore-end of the gun finished.  I said in a "medium gloss."  

Yesterday the gun arrives.  I call Eagle-1 Supply here in town and they confirm that they have logged the gun in and that I can come pick it up.  When I arrive I say to the gent behind the counter, "I'm here to pick up a transferred shotgun"  he says  "what kind?"  I reply "Thomas Ferney,"  "No, not your name, (he says) the brand name of the gun."  My response..."that is the name of the brand - Thomas Ferney."  I point this out to give you an idea just how new this product is.  Once they opened the case, the entire population of the gun store (7-10 people) began to huddle around the counter where I was putting it together.  The collective sentiment was this is a really fine gun and people began guessing how much it cost.  The gun pros behind the counter were admiring the metal-to-wood fit.  So, I'm feeling better...lots of positive feedback, but there's still one more person I want to hear from.  My father.  A 20 year retired Marine Lt. Colonel who's fired just about everything with a barrel.  This morning, he stops by the house around 0900 for a cup of coffee and the first thing he says is "where's this gun I've been hearing you talk about."  I point to the gun case over near the stairs.  He unzips the case, and immediately exclaims that it's one of the best looking and feeling shotguns he's come across.  Ok...now I'm sold!  Dad and I go over the gun from the butt-plate to the end of the barrels...every function, every finishing feature...there is absolutely nothing wrong it, and the price is unbelievable for the kind of quality we're seeing.  

Long and the short of this story is that from beginning to end the people at Thomas Ferney & Co. have delivered everything they said they would.  And being a photographer I've provided some shots for them to use in their marketing (I am that impressed!).  One of those shots is now the cover photo for this blog (my gun).  If I were them I'd think about raising prices very soon as with their limited production runs I could see them running out of product in short fashion!  Good luck to Chris Handy and all the folks at Thomas Ferney & Co.  you are definitely onto something!

The iScope

Now those of you who know me know that I'm a bit of a conundrum.  I'm a guy who's in the tech field but from a sensibility standpoint was probably born a century too late.  I enjoy tech and all the benefits, but I'm also one that loves shooting sports, lazy days of fishing, slow cooked meals, being a southern gentleman, working in the dirt, my strong Christian faith, making things by hand, etc.  In short, with all the conflicts running around in my head it's really not very easy being me!  Every once in a while, however, a product comes along that bridges the hi-tech / low-tech chasm that I fight to get over every day.

The iScope is one such product.  This little gem allows you to simply line up the optics of your iPhone with the optics of your favorite hunting rifle.  This is too cool!  With this adapter, you simply slide your iPhone into place so that the optic on the back of the phone is peering down the rifle scope...thus, what's being seen through your scope is being displayed back to you on the screen.  It allows for zooming in on a subject or target and (if you want) recording what you see.  It also gives you a "heads up display" type of orientation from which to take your shot.  (I especially like the ability to record).

The beauty of this product is that it's nothing more than an extremely  well thought out adapter (some of the very best ideas are the simplest).  All the functions are already built into the iPhone.  They're just being utilized in a very unique manner...  For hunting!  I'll bet that's one function that the good folks at Apple never thought that their iPhones would be utilized for.  

Anyhow, if you use optics for birdwatching, hunting, spotting, or simply for enjoyment and would like to have a larger field of view, or would like to record what you see directly to your iPhone, be sure to check out the iScope!

Neat idea that even someone that's as conflicted as me can wrap his brain around!

Until Next Time ...

D. Jeffries