Am I crazy for sleeping with a gun nearby?

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Three kids -- 7, 12 and 18. The oldest often comes in after everyone else is fast asleep. Youngest, daughter, sleeps downstairs in room we must go thru to get to bathroom. Yet, there is always a loaded Airweight revolver under a towel on a chair on my side of the bed at night. It's the one I have with me during the day, and I quietly slip it under the towel so that my wife, a gun ninny, has no idea it is there. My bumps-in-the-night drill is to reach first for a flashlight if I think the bumps and accompanying sounds are wrong. I'm a light sleeper, and come to my senses fairly quickly when awakened. But I figure if a BG has come in, seeing a flashlight go on should alert him or her that someone is up. A good time for the BG to skedaddle. If not, a strong light in the face in the dark should repel all but the most determined intruder...or the Airweight will be brought immediately to bear. Unless it's storming out, the sound of shattering glass will propel me past the flashlight stage directly to the Airweight, altho the flashlight will be with me, as well.

We had a home invasion/robbery in the neighborhood several years ago. It was one of the few rental houses on our road in the small semi-rural fishing community. The renter, a middle-aged woman, testified at the trial that the teenage invaders stole a pound of marijuana as well as some cash, which confirmed our suspicions despite our shock that she would publicly admit it. A quieter family rents there now. But...

Many of the bungalows on our road were built in the 1930s by the same builder, and they look alike. Robbers conceivably could pick the wrong house if they suspected that someone sold dope out of one of them. Fortunately it's a fairly close-knit community, and many of the residents keep guns handy. I think that has a lot to do with our very, very low crime rate. Then again, I do wear my cape and tights when mowing the lawn.

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Idiot, n. A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant and controlling. -- Ambrose Bierce
 
If you'r crazy, I'm crazy. I've slept with a gun nearby since in Jr. high school and I'm 55 yrs old! A few weeks ago, an old couple in our town were attacked by a door crasher at 6:30 AM Sunday morning. I then moved a LOADED gun to the magazine pocket of my favorite recliner in the living room in front of the TV. Don't even have to get up! If I act this way for another 90 years and never need one of my guns, it will be fine by me. If I EVER need one and it is not near, I WILL be PO'd BIG TIME!
 
Always sleep with my HK USP9f, round chambered, on my nightstand.

Wouldn't feel comfortable without it.

CMOS

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NRA? Good. Now join the GOA!

The NRA is our shield, the GOA will be our sword.
 
My gun is well within reach when I'm in bed. It's out of sight, but within reach.

I figure if someone wakes me up in the middle of the night, and it's not a female, and she's not naked... :)
 
I think you get the picture!

Mine's an H&K USP45 with UTL, and it's always in that same spot, next to the bed.

That brings up another question, but I'll start another one for that...
 
Live in New Yawk, here you're foolish if your don't have a gun close by where ever your sleeping, not just one, shotgun, AR 15 & a couple pistols to back them. Not to long ago "Home Invasions" were all the rage here locally, the one that totalled seven "Guests" made AR. Fortunatly the guy heard them breaking into his nextdoor neighbors & was waiting for them with milk & cookies. They got their fill.
 
All my guns except for my SKS are chambered with a round. Beretta and HK are in holsters with the safety off. KelTec resides in my butt bag with no holster. Mossberg is loaded with safety on.
 
Have two at hand,Loaded mags ready to go. Don't keep one in the tubes though ;)

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We preserve our freedoms by using four boxes: soap,ballot,jury, and cartridge.
Anonymous
 
Wedge,

I don't think your crazy in the least. To prove this point, let me ask a few rhetorical questions:
> Do you have telephone near your bed in case of fire, illness, or crime?
> Do you have a fire extinguisher in your home?
> Do you maintain homeowners, health, and automobile insurance?
> Do you inspect the mechanical condition of your car(s) to ensure they are safe and reliable?

The point is we all do things, spending time and money, to protect our families against potential catastrophes we hope will never occur. None of us wants to be a victim of crime, just as none of us want to suffer a medical emergency, a house fire, or an automotive breakdown. However, if we are smart, we protect ourselves against calamities through tools (firearms, fire extinguishers, etc.), through insurance, and through prudent judgment (car inspections, learning how to use firearms safely and effectively, etc.).


[This message has been edited by RWK (edited September 16, 2000).]
 
When kids are around I use a GunVault with quick opening touch switches. It can easily be opened in total darkness with my eyes closed. Takes two seconds. I use to rely on my Glock 21, but now prefer my P7M8 because of my sense of comfort with the grip safety. Cruiser ready 870 is also close by.

A good measure of your ability to detect and act quickly from a dead sleep is your reaction to the occasional mosquito. Now, if you wake up and slap your wife silly, you best put the gun away.
 
Keep in mind that a gun on the nightstand is rather easy for an intruder to find. What if the intruder is stealthy enough to get inside your house without waking you (supposedly happens all the time, many folks are burgled while they sleep). You might want to mount a holster or lockbox somewhere that's not visually obvious to a bad guy with a flashlight.

Also, there's the possibility that a gun with a round in the chamber could cook off in a house fire with much worse consequences (particularly for autos) than just having the ammo cook off in the mag. I'd hate to inadvertently shoot a fireman.

Becoming fully concious and gaining usable vision takes maybe 10 seconds, grabbing the gun takes maybe 3 seconds, racking the slide takes maybe one second.
 
I won't sleep with a gun under my pillow or the pillow next to me because I've had some pretty realistic dreams before. Once, I kicked my mom because she corresponded with a dream I was having about a home-intrusion. Geeze... what if I had a gun instead?

Kinda scary. For that reason, I'd keep it in a night stand where I'd have to be semi-aware of my surroundings before grabbing it.

Ben

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The headboard on our bed has a secret compartment that if you didn't know it was there, you would never suspect it had one. I keep a loaded GP100 in there for things that may go bump in the night. For a BG to get to it he would have to disturb my sleep as my pillow rests against it.


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Rick
 
Hey buddy, grab a laser and/or nights and nestle your little companion right under your pillow.

You never know.

My G-26 never leaves me.....

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"Are You Gonna Bark All Day Little Doggie, Or Are You Gonna Bite?"

"Get rid of that nickel plated sissy pistol and get yourself a Glock" - Tommy Lee Jones
 
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