Night stand gun..Where does it really go?

T

Tactical Jackalope

New member
Pretty much everyone on this forum has a home defense weapon within reach when we sleep. The "night stand" gun. Now yes..some have shotguns for home defense, some even use rifles for night watch. I'm talking handguns here.

Now..my question. Not what is your home defense weapon..If you wish to share that's cool too..Pics are always welcome here on TFL..Better actually.

Where does your home defense / night watch gun go?

I've been hearing some strange things..like under the pillow, sticking out of the mattress, at the door way...My is literally on the nightstand a few inches from me. I'm recently single so now I keep a spare under the pillow next to where my chick used to sleep. Since I usually sleep on one side extremely biased. Now why have I began doing that? I heard a few horror stories of a really swift break in here and there where the criminal vampires his way into your room and spots the firearm on the nightstand and..just use your imagination.

So where do you place your handgun when you sleep at night?
 
I tend to sleep on my left side most of the night, ive got a little night stand about a foot away from the bed, that im facing while im asleep. On that stand, I keep my revolver (loaded) along with a little night stand light, and a flash light too. Its only my girlfreind and myself here, so im not worried about a child getting a hold of my gun.
 
It's not a bad question, Constantine, one that I've given some thought. Here's the story that changed our night-time ritual. I've always considered myself a light sleeper...two tours in SE Asia will do that to you...but a year or so ago, one of our sons and his wife visited us for several days.

One evening, they'd arrived home well after 2 AM, and our son came into the bedroom to announce they'd arrived safely. Neither my wife nor I heard them in the house, climb the stairs, or open the door. I awoke when he wiggled my exposed toe, knowing that I kept a gun by the bed. To make it worse, our lab, usually a good watch dog, didn't bark or growl, something she usually does even when my wife and I arrive home.

It was an awakening in more than one way. It occurred to me, that had I reacted badly, not fully assessing the situation, I could have made a life changing mistake.

So now, we lock the bedroom door each night; figuring the add'l noise of wiggling the lock would awaken us...and yes, my S&W M36 still resides on top of my night stand, and my wife has her 637, with its set of Crimson Trace grips, on her side as well. They're easy to reach, the locked door provides some add'l time and noise, and hopefully the dog will give us an earlier wake-up. I've also taken to leaving a mag lite next to my revolver.

One add'l point...we take our cell phones up to bed with us...cut phone lines can disable the land line, and the remote location of our farm house precludes neighbor's from seeing anything awry.

Best Regards, Rodfac
 
I don't leave a gun on the night stand. I carry in my pants pocket, when I go to bed I hang my pants on the bed post where I can reach it. For anyone else to get it they have to climb over me.

When I get up, I put on my pants so no gun is left in the bed room.

If you ever investigated many burglaries you'll know its the bedroom that gets ransacked the most. I don't leave guns laying around for bandits when I'm not home or even when I'm home.
 
My carry pistol has a nest in the drawer of my bedside table. The pistol, a spare mag, and a good flashlight are always in the same spot, so I can lay my hands on them in the dark. I use the exact same arrangement in hotel rooms so that it is always automatic.

The only exception that I make is when we have juvenile guests, at which times I place a quick-release pistol box (which I usually use in my car) in the same spot in the drawer. The pistol, magazine, and flashlight actually stay in the same relationship to each other even then.
 
My head board is made is such a way that I can strap a belt around it with a holster attached. So while laying in bed I can reach over the head board and grab my Glock 17 which isn't visible, but still in an easy to draw predicable holster. Yes, I lock my bedroom door too, but that doesn't help with my kids that know how to pick the lock! Fortunately any intruder at this time would be much larger than them as to reduce the chance of error!
 
Night stand gun

Get a dog, even a small one to wake you or if your lifestyle doesn't permit taking care of a dog then you can get cheap motion detector alarms that just plug into a socket, I've seen them at hardware stores many times. My wife and I also lock our bedroom door at night, as previously mentioned that will prevent you from waking up to someone already standing over you. Exactly where you keep your gun at night is less important as long as you can access it quickly.
 
G17 right next to my pillow, but not accessible to Vampires :D

FAS1 SAFE Video Clip

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Mine is in the closet. I just moved and barely have any furniture moved in yet, so there is no nightstand yet :eek:

Hopefully being upstairs and my dog would give me enough time to get in there, which coincidentally would put two more doors between me and any intruders.
 
I like the magnetic holsters so the gun can be mounted in places like the side of a dresser. My EDC g26 does day and night duty from my bellyband holster to the magnetic holster on the side of the night stand
 
Always place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark. My 45 sits on top the nightstand at night. Locked bedroom door with an entry lock and not one that can be opened with a stat driver. A dog with a bad attitude roaming. No ones coming in my bedroom. I sleep light and so does the dog.
 
Holster attached to a piece of plywood. Plywood slides between mattress and box spring. Pistol in holster hanging on side of bed where it's easily reached while keeping hand and pistol under the covers.
 
Mine goes on the night stand beside bed with Surefire flashlite & cell phone. It goes on my belt when I get up. No kids & 3 big barking dogs @ the slightest sound @ the foot of my bed lets me sleep well.:D I live alone in a very isolated area. LEO's are far away. Hopefully so are the BG's!
 
I would prefer to keep mine on top of or in the top drawer of my nightstand but currently, thats not an acceptable option for me right now. my kids are very young and curious. ALL of my guns have to be locked up at all times. My safe is 2 steps away from my bedside. I do practice getting into it in the dark though its still not as fast as having it out and loaded before a situation occurs. I keep flashlights in my nightstand and my Easton bat behind it.
 
Headboard

Many good answers.

I keep mine in my headboard, which is like a shallow bookcase. Flashlights (2), gun, telephone.

I have often thought that the ultimate in gun availability would be to wear a glove with a gun's grip sewn to the palm. If Joanne Whalley's character in the movie "I Jury" (based on a Mike Hammer novel) had such an arrangement, she would have prevented her rape by Armand Assante's character and a whole lot of other trouble. But it REALLY would be a bad idea unless you were completely free of vivid dreams and sleepwalking. Like I said, just a thought, but I think, better than under the pillow. It can't get lost.

(Whalleys' character was on the jury for Assante's character's trial. He broke into her bedroom to influence her vote and to emphasize his point raped her after threatening her child. If she had plugged him dead right then and there, no prosecutor could have filed charges. But that was fiction and fantasy and not reality and not practical. Just food for thought.)

Lost Sheep
 
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I have a small table I use as a night stand. Screwed a hard drive magnet to the underside, covered it with a couple layers of duct tape. Holds my p3at in a position that makes it easy to grab if I roll over and stick my hand under the table top. But can't be easily seen by anyone that might somehow make it past all the locked doors, burglar bars, etc, without me hearing them. A safe with much heavier hardware is mere feet from my bed.
 
Once I get one, a GunVault at my bedside with my pistol in it, with spare mag(s) and a flashlight mounted on the accessory rail of the gun.
 
Always place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark.
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Yup, and I keep mine together, in the same place every night. I just leave my pistol in its holster which is always in my pants, whether I am or not. Dont have to go look for anything.

I personally (in most cases) dont think its a good idea to keep the gun in, on, or within arms reach of the bed. To easy to wake up in a panic from places out of the past. Besides, I have two 125# Rotties sleeping with us who have the run of the house. If a mouse farts, I get a report. I'll have plenty of time to get dressed, make some coffee, and wait for the Troopers. :)
 
My next to the bed gun is a Remington 12 ga 870 w/20" cylinder choked barrel. It is not kept loaded but the shells are close by in a drawer. I have reservations about having a firearm at the ready when I might not be fully awake. I believe a bedside firearm shoud have to be loaded before the firearm is used.

Doug
 
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