45 under your pillow

Its just generally not considered a great habit. Sure, your head may not be directly on your gun, as another post stated, but its still a bad idea. Some even say storing a loaded weapon in the nightstand table is a bad idea. But, even so, a much better idea than under a damn pillow...particularly if we are talking about a "cocked and locked" single action style firearm. Just dont do it...it reaks of bad habit.
 
I have kids. Nothing is unlocked. I have an elaborate alarm system and guns within reach.

Alarm System
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Locked, but handy. (I practice daily):

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Inside...
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The P226 is for me...I hand the J-frame to my wife.
If the battery is down..I reach to the right. Which brings us back to 45's..in this case under the bed. I preset the lock and have not opened it with my eyes open in a year (probably two).
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Being the cheapskate that I am.....

....I made a bedside holster-holder from a scrap piece of 3/16 plexiglass from the pile of junk in my yard. Started with 10x12" piece, used a jigsaw to carve out a tang to fit my soft-side Ambi-Holster, heated with a propane torch to bend it at the appropriate spot, leaving a tab about 6" deep, 10" long that slides between the mattress and box-spring on 'my' side of the bed. Smoothed the cut edges with a grinder or sandpaper, then hit 'em lightly with the torch flame, just enough to smooth out the scratches. Works great, I can take the gun and holster right off my belt or out of my briefcase or range bag and slide it right onto the tang without even waking the GF. Works so well I made another to hold 2 Maglights and cellphone. Holster also carries spare 7-rd mag for the .45 and a Gerber Valloton.

I'll post pics when I get home....barring an attack of the lazies....

Attached are pics...kinda crappy--you'll notice the cellphone is not hanging from its lanyard hook, cuz I had to use it to take the pic! (left the good camera at the office...again!)
 

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thank you everyone. I used to think that I was paranoid, but now
I see I would have to go even further to be so paranoid as to sleep with a single action pistol under my pillow.
 
I toss and turn a lot in my sleep so keeping a gun under my pillow would be pointless since it would not be there when I needed it. I do have a kydex slide holster mounted on the headboard so I can keep one of these at the head of the bed.

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And these stay at the foot of the bed.

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kwhi43@kc.rr.com, a 1911 cocked and locked is the way to go if you want a round chambered in your HD handgun or if you are carrying. Hammer down has been done by people in the past but its not usually recommended. The hammer could slip from your thumb as its not as big as a revolver hammer. Yes, there is a half cock notch to catch the hammer on most models if it slips but its easier to have the safety on so that it only needs to be swept off.

I would suggest the above meathod if its in a secured place like a nightstand, bed holster or other area where it won't get knocked off a table and definatly not under a pillow.

Since your used to SA revolvers, your in a whole other arena of weapon manipulation. You now have safeties, magazines,slide,things moving when fired and a different way to reload. Get plenty of range time with it.

I personally have my HD with full mags/tubes and no rounds chambered.Why I do this is because I sometimes change from one 1911 to another and I don't like chambering and unchambering rounds.
 
I used a Seville 45 Colt for a pillow gun for a long time. Problem is, it was blued. Stainless seems to be better for pillow guns, at least for me, and, in humid areas.

Now my FA 83 gets that call, on 1/8 safety cock. Works for me, with the M44 next to the bed, loaded and chambered, but not cocked.
 
Used to sleep with my 1911 under my pillow, cocked and locked ... It NEVER moved, was never not where I put it the night before ... I've moved it to my nightstand, but I'm still trying to figure out how a cocked and locked 1911 could fire ... even if you somehow got the safety off while rolling around, how would the grip safety get depressed AND the trigger pulled, all at the same time? If you want to sleep with a gun under your pillow, my advice is, get a thick pillow and enjoy ...
 
Pillow talk.

I've slept with a gun under the pillow for about 15 years.
Doing so prevented a daring daylight home invasion in the early nineties.
At that time it was a Makarov in condition one.
The goof had started to break in the back bedroom window where I was napping. I wake up fully conscious.
I'll never forget the look in the goblin's eyes when he came face to face with my little Russian friend!! His words as he ran away (probably did you know what in his pants too) were "don't shoot me"!! The Maricopa County Sheriff's Department found him cowering in a neighbor's yard. It turned out he was a two time loser out on parole. He went back in on the violation since he didn't actually break in but was in possession of tools.
For years it was that trusty Makarov. Then it was replaced by a Taurus 605, which was involved in yet another incident where having a gun caused two gangpunks to rethink a robbery, but that's another tale. Nowadays the pillow gun is my trusty Smith and Wesson 65-6LS loaded with 158gr Federal Hydroshoks.
Yes Virginia, I have kept a PPK under the pillow too!!;)
 
If I put a gun on the sheets and left even the slightest trace of oil, my wife would kill me herself. With good reason.

The nightstand (with glass top over Cherry) is all the she-beast allows. The Chihuahua is always on guard.
 
The delay to pull a pistol out from under your pillow is too long. It would be better to sleep with the pistol in your hand whileyou are sitting up in a chair facing the most likely point of entry...

this is sarcasm....
 
Denfoote, I didn't think Maks had a functional condition 1 eg..safety applied with the hammer cocked...What you described is condition "0"...Please tell me you didn't do that...Of course I could be wrong and often am...
 
Colt Lightning

Way back in the days of yore when dinosaurs roamed the earth...


A fellow in Tennessee slept with a Colt Lightning revolver under his pillow. One night he was awakened and saw someone behind the curtains fiddling with the window. He pulled the revolver and fired one shot. Upon further investigation it was found to be his wife. It was ruled an accidental shooting.

Twenty plus years later, once again the man was awakened from deep sleep, saw someone behind the curtains (same window), pulled his Colt Lightning from under the pillow and fired one shot. Upon investigation it was found to be his second wife. This too was ruled an accidental shooting.

The sheriff did suggest that he get rid of that gun, which had only had those two rounds fired in its entire existence. The four other original rounds were still in the chambers with the remainder of the shells still in the original box.

The revolver came into my family after the second shooting. Has not been involved in any additional accidents.

The original owner replaced it with a 45, but did not remarry a third time, and never had another accidental shooting with someone behind the curtains.

.
 
Big Brother is looking under pillows in Germany

Man with gun under pillow forfeits license
Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:36am EST

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man who slept with a loaded revolver under his pillow has lost his gun license after a court ruled it to be irresponsible behavior.

The 56-year-old was stripped of his license for failing to store the weapon properly, Braunschweig administrative court judge Torsten Baumgarten told Reuters Tuesday. The gun was only discovered by chance during a police inspection.

"His home was being checked because he had threatened to throw a hand grenade if the city council approved plans to build a high-voltage power line in his neighborhood," Baumgarten said. "The decision to take his license was made independently."

Baumgarten said the ruling, which sets a legal precedent in Germany, in effect outlaws sleeping on top of a firearm -- because the owner of the gun is not in control of the weapon and is therefore putting himself and others at risk.

"Anyone could come along and take the gun away from him, his wife for example," Baumgarten said. The man, who also owned several other weapons, said he kept the gun under his pillow because he feared burglars.

(Reporting by Josie Cox; Editing by Charles Dick)
 
Guess I know where the Kali government takes lessons from.:rolleyes:
Generally, threatening to blow things up with a hand grenade is not a good way of keeping a low profile...

Bad facts=bad law
stupid facts=worse law...;)
 
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