When you go to bed...

[Diode]

We have a 2 story with the bedrooms upstairs. When I come in for the evening I place my carry gun on the bottom shelf of the coffee table. It stays there until bed time. I take it upstairs and it has been staying on the nightstand just as I carry it (Loaded safety off) It's a DA/SA My 17 and 12 year olds come over every other weekend, when they are there I keep all the guns locked in our closet except my carry.

Do you think it's unsafe having my gun on the nightstand? A BG would have to not wake up the outside dog and the small yappy inside dog and get up the stairs to get to my weapon while I sleep.? I have been considering a finger lock box but I sure like knowing I can reach it easily ... thoughts? TX?

[progun47]

When I go to bed, my Kimber Ultra CDP goes into a foam lined "daytimer" that i converted. This goes under the edge of my bed. The streamlight is always on the night stand in it's charger. We have no children at home, so that's not a concern.
There are a couple of things posted above that I'd like to comment on, one is about leaving the lights on in the kitchen, to me this is a disadvantage, you already know the layout of your home, a BG does not, why give away that advantage. Most likely if all the lights are off there is still enough light to see a person that has invaded your home, you will still need to hit them with the flash light for postive ID but by that time you will have them covered anyway. The second point is, I do think that it's a bad idea to have any weapon in plain sight while you are asleep. 1st because it might get grabed before you are awake, and 2nd it's just too easy to grab it yourself before you are fully ready to use it. I think you should have to do something to get the weapon, like opening a drawer, reaching under the bead, etc to give you time to become fully awake so no mistakes are made.
just my .02 worth

[Venus Pax]

Diode, I also agree with Progun. Put your gun in a top drawer, or under your mattress in a position where you can quickly grab it.

[kw5kw]

I use my paddle holster and wedge it between the headboard and the mattress. Works for me. I sleep a little hard and having it not covered up bothers me. If someone sneaks in, then they just found a gun and im still asleep.

I sleep hard also, my wife says that I could sleep through a tornado and an earthquake on the same night.

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A handgun (or any gun for that matter) is not good as the only means of security for your home. Lights, alarms, dogs, good locks, etc, are the first line of defense. You want to be able to fully wake up before you would need to access your weapon. I can tell you any horror stories of a droggy homeowner shooting a friendly.

Dogs are the first line of defense. They can hear and smell hundreds and thousands of times better than we humans are able to; and, they can see in the dark. They know when unwanted intruders are roaming around. I know that our ½ Black Lab / ½ Golden Retriever—‘Stormy,’ who is as black as the night—always wakes us up, way before any window would be broken or door smashed in.
This is excellent advice! As I stated before; I am a heavy sleeper, but my dog can wake me up. It does take me several seconds before I’m conscious enough to ‘realize’ what’s up. Then to respond takes several more seconds. By that time, if Stormy’s still barkin’ then the plan goes into action.

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A plan for you and your family is critical. Have it and practice it. Include your family in the practice.

We have a plan, how well it works, hopefully we’ll never find out for real.

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How will you communicate with the authorities, each other?

First thing we’re doing is dial 911, get them on the line. We will use our cell phone because the wire cannot be ‘cut’ like the ‘land-line’ can.

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Do you know that tactically it takes at least 2 people to clear a house? 2 is the minimum, 4 is better. Taking off through your house after a potential intruder is dangerous for you and your family. Depending on the layout of your home, you may have kids you have to go to.

Our plan is: “Dial 911, grab the gun and get into a defensive posture in our bathroom… same basic plan as in a tornado, except for the 911. Our dog will provide the search of the house if necessary.

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How is your house set up? If you fire in any direction, even up (for those of you in 2-stories) where will the bullet go if you miss or over-penetrate?

Worst case, the bullet will hit our vehicles in the garage.

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Do you have a light? Have you practiced how to handle a gun AND a light? Is your light weapon mounted? If so, remember that to illuminate anyone, including a family member, you will be covering them with the muzzle.

Yes, and yes. I prefer a hand held light separate from the gun. The hand held light is in my left hand… above my head, that gives an intimidating picture of a very tall man using the flashlight. I use the flashlight only to startle… instant on… and instant off. Bright light suddenly appearing in the intruder’s eyes will blind him. The flashlight being held high in my left hand gives the BG a much smaller target, while keeping me much safer some 2.5 feet to the right and 1.5 feet lower than the light the BG saw. Worst case, if he fires, he might hit my arm/hand, my body is much safer. Then… I have a much better target to return fire at.

If the flashlight is mounted on my gun, that’s where he’s shooting and I have NO body armor to protect me as the SWAT teams do. BAD IDEA for the average ‘Joe’ homeowner to have a tactical light on your weapon… IMHO, anyway.

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Security vs accessability for the weapon is also an issue. NEVER trust that your kids cannot get to the weapon without waking you. One of our LEO's still has a bullet in his head from thinking such. Never trust that they won't get to the weapon.

I promote the fact that keeping guns a secret is what kills. It’s the ‘unknown’… that curiosity that is intriguing to the children. Teach them, be honest with them, show them what a gun is capable of… have them shoot a watermelon, and have them watch it explode. Teach them that this is NOT a video game, where when you shoot somebody, you don’t just press ‘reset’ to start over again. Teach them that this is for REAL, that when people die they are gone until Jesus comes back!

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Below is a posting I made on another site in 2004 regarding
<snip> I quickly made a visual scan of the front windows, no apparent Point of Entry (POE). I made my way to the stairway, where I could see the den windows and the back door, but not the garage door. Again no apparent POE, and the dog was not barking.

Here is the key to this story… the dog was not barking.

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<snip>
We then turned on all of the lights and did a more thorough check. There was no indication or evidence of an attempted break-in. It had been raining, and there was no indication anyone had been outside near any window or door. Just a False Alarm.

Now, if the dog had been going crazy, I feel that this would have been a different story.


Russ

[MikeJ]

Bureau drawer. Access is not fast, but I rely on my biological alarm systems (a.k.a. Irish Setters) to wake me in plenty of time to deal with any intruder. The dogs are reliable (sure to alert you when they should) but not secure (alerting you only when they should). They don't seem able to distinguish between Charles Manson and a feral cat.

[Diode]

Bureau drawer. Access is not fast, but I rely on my biological alarm systems (a.k.a. Irish Setters) to wake me in plenty of time to deal with any intruder. The dogs are reliable (sure to alert you when they should) but not secure (alerting you only when they should). They don't seem able to distinguish between Charles Manson and a feral cat.

My boxer will wake me up, as for security, she will lick them to death.

[txinvestigator]

Yes, and yes. I prefer a hand held light separate from the gun. The hand held light is in my left hand… above my head, that gives an intimidating picture of a very tall man using the flashlight. I use the flashlight only to startle… instant on… and instant off. Bright light suddenly appearing in the intruder’s eyes will blind him. The flashlight being held high in my left hand gives the BG a much smaller target, while keeping me much safer some 2.5 feet to the right and 1.5 feet lower than the light the BG saw. Worst case, if he fires, he might hit my arm/hand, my body is much safer. Then… I have a much better target to return fire at.

If the flashlight is mounted on my gun, that’s where he’s shooting and I have NO body armor to protect me as the SWAT teams do. BAD IDEA for the average ‘Joe’ homeowner to have a tactical light on your weapon… IMHO, anyway.

Can't argue with that logic. Also consider this though; with a handheld light you will be forced to handle and possibly fire your weapon 1-handed. No problem, but how many actually practice that? If you need your off-hand for anything you must lose your light source.

With a weapon mounted light, you will use two hands on the gun. If you need your left hand, to open a door, parry off a close assault, etc, you do not lose your light.

Not disagreeing with you, just food for thought.

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Security vs accessability for the weapon is also an issue. NEVER trust that your kids cannot get to the weapon without waking you. One of our LEO's still has a bullet in his head from thinking such. Never trust that they won't get to the weapon.

I promote the fact that keeping guns a secret is what kills. It’s the ‘unknown’… that curiosity that is intriguing to the children. Teach them, be honest with them, show them what a gun is capable of… have them shoot a watermelon, and have them watch it explode. Teach them that this is NOT a video game, where when you shoot somebody, you don’t just press ‘reset’ to start over again. Teach them that this is for REAL, that when people die they are gone until Jesus comes back!

Agree 100%. My 10 year old daughter has been shooting since she was 7. She can recite the 4 cardinal safety rules. (heck, she knows the difference between cover and concealment, can pie a corner, do quick peeks,etc, but that another thread :) ) I have tested her many times by attempting to hand her a gun that I had cleared, but she didn't know it and the slide was forward. She refuses and tells me to "open it" first before she will take it.

All of that said, she is still a 10 year old.

[Wilson]

We aren’t paranoid but 12 gauge pump & PLR-16 under the bed, Glocks in the nightstands and P-3ATs under our pillows.

[txinvestigator]

We aren’t paranoid but 12 gauge pump & PLR-16 under the bed, Glocks in the nightstands and P-3ATs under our pillows.

No disrespect meant, but having a handgun under you pillow is a REALLY bad idea.

[JLaw]

I promote the fact that keeping guns a secret is what kills. It’s the ‘unknown’… that curiosity that is intriguing to the children. Teach them, be honest with them, show them what a gun is capable of…

Russ

No secrets here!!



Agreed, secrets do cause curiosity, and we all know what happened to "the cat".


JLaw

[longtooth]

We aren’t paranoid but 12 gauge pump & PLR-16 under the bed, Glocks in the nightstands and P-3ATs under our pillows.

No dsrepect meant, but having a handgun under you pillow is a REALLY bad idea.

Agree.

[kw5kw]

We aren’t paranoid but 12 gauge pump & PLR-16 under the bed, Glocks in the nightstands and P-3ATs under our pillows.

No dsrepect meant, but having a handgun under you pillow is a REALLY bad idea.

+1

Might be better to place the Holy Bible under the pillow!

[Wilson]

We aren’t paranoid but 12 gauge pump & PLR-16 under the bed, Glocks in the nightstands and P-3ATs under our pillows.

No disrespect meant, but having a handgun under you pillow is a REALLY bad idea.

None taken. I’m sure you have reasons why it might be a bad idea for you but I can’t think of one reason why it’s not a good idea for my wife and myself.

[txinvestigator]

We aren’t paranoid but 12 gauge pump & PLR-16 under the bed, Glocks in the nightstands and P-3ATs under our pillows.

No disrespect meant, but having a handgun under you pillow is a REALLY bad idea.

None taken. I’m sure you have reasons why it might be a bad idea for you but I can’t think of one reason why it’s not a good idea for my wife and myself.

1. It is too easy to acces the weapon before you are fully awake.

2. It is VERY possible to discharge the weapon while asleep.

Both of these things have happened before, and not just once.

[Diode]

We aren’t paranoid but 12 gauge pump & PLR-16 under the bed, Glocks in the nightstands and P-3ATs under our pillows.

No disrespect meant, but having a handgun under you pillow is a REALLY bad idea.

None taken. I’m sure you have reasons why it might be a bad idea for you but I can’t think of one reason why it’s not a good idea for my wife and myself.

1. It is too easy to acces the weapon before you are fully awake.

2. It is VERY possible to discharge the weapon while asleep.

Both of these things have happened before, and not just once.

So place you night weapon in a drawer or a couple steps from the bed so it takes you a few seconds to get it and maybe wake up? Seems thats cutting it close on timing.... I realize people are different but I can see the logic of trying to wake up a tad before grabbing a gun. Eeekkk some many varables