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Old November 6, 2013, 09:22 PM   #1
gaseousclay
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Where do you keep your HD firearm?

I was curious where you guys keep your HD firearm, whether its a handgun or shotgun. I ask because I plan on buying a mossberg 500 for HD, but it'll likely sit in my safe. I'd like to keep it close by just in case but I know my wife would make a stink about it. I was thinking the closet might be good or underneath the dresser.....out of sight out of mind.

If somebody decided to try and kick my door in I'd be in a tough situation that would require me to run to the back of our house, unlock the safe in record time and load the shotgun. I figure every second counts in a potentially life threatening scenario so I want to be prepared.

What does your SO think of you keeping a firearm within arms reach?
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Old November 6, 2013, 11:25 PM   #2
dakota.potts
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I wear my handgun on a holster in the house. My bedroom is upstairs where I'd have to pass by the front door to get to my handgun safe. Not an ideal situation.

In the house/yard/garage/driveway, it's on me. When I go to bed, it's close enough. Any time I'm gone, it goes in the safe.

My girlfriend hates that I have a gun and I think she'd prefer to pretend that they didn't exist but she knows I'm going to wear it and that I have reasons for doing so. We don't live together so I don't know if that makes things different for us.

I tend to think of a handgun as a better weapon for a home defense gun. It's harder to have taken away from you and easier to move through the house with. A shotgun for me is a "bunker down" weapon for when you and the SO have locked yourselves in the room and the intruder is still trying to enter and do you harm.

If I owned a shotgun, it would be in my retreat room - likely the bedroom - in perhaps a quick release safe of some sort. Handgun always on me.

it's difficult to answer with a shotgun because I doubt you're going to strap it on your back every day. If you keep it by your bed, does it do you any good in the kitchen? How about the bathroom? Statistically the best bet is to keep it close to the place you spend most time in during the day.
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Old November 6, 2013, 11:25 PM   #3
JimmyR
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I believe in redundency...

Model 19 on the Mrs's nightstand, a Security Six on mine, both loaded with 38 Spec +P Hydrashoks and some Hornady Critial Defense 357s in speedloaders next to them.

Ruger 10/22 with ATI stock behind the headboard with 10 rds of CCI Stingers, and more mags close by

12 Guage Ted Williams with 00 Buckshot in the closet by the door.

ETA: These are strictly my HD weapons, not including my carry weapons which are normally on my person or within reach when I am no in my bedroom.
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Old November 7, 2013, 12:01 AM   #4
Dragline45
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My carry gun, a Sig 232, usually sits next to me while I am awake no matter what room I am in, when sleeping it sits next to the alarm clock.

My nightstand gun, a Beretta M9A1, sits in the nightstand draw with an extra mag and a flashlight. There isn't enough room for it to sit on top of the nightstand itself with my alarm clock, phone, and glass of water, where as my carry gun fits just fine.

12g Mossberg 500 under the bed in a hard case.

When I leave the house all of them get locked up. I don't want to make it easy for anyone breaking in to steal my guns.
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Old November 7, 2013, 02:51 AM   #5
Theohazard
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My Glock 19 is on my nightstand and my AR-15 is in my kitchen. I live in an apartment and my handgun is for accessibility and my AR is in the spot farthest from the front door. I have a shotgun too, but because I live in an apartment building my AR-15 is my go-to HD weapon because I'm worried about over-penetration. And when I leave my apartment during the day all my guns either come with me or are locked up.
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Old November 7, 2013, 09:13 AM   #6
1DrnkMxR
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Glock 19 always on my nightstand, the rest are locked up.
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Old November 7, 2013, 09:22 AM   #7
Jim243
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45 right on the night stand next to my pillow at night or on my hip during the day. Shotgun in the gun cabinet right next to the night stand, 5 in the mag and chamber empty. Handy if needed, general not needed but there anyways. You may want to try under the bed on your side.

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Old November 7, 2013, 09:29 AM   #8
TailGator
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I use the same handgun for EDC and HD. It is on my hip most of the time I am awake, in the nightstand drawer when I am in the bedroom, or sometimes on a nearby end table or countertop. (I have no kids in the house and a wife who also has her CWP.)
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Old November 7, 2013, 09:40 AM   #9
tirod
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Quote:
If somebody decided to try and kick my door in I'd be in a tough situation that would require me to run to the back of our house, unlock the safe in record time and load the shotgun. I figure every second counts in a potentially life threatening scenario so I want to be prepared.
You see it for what it is - a gun in the safe isn't going to help. An unloaded gun isn't going to help. And having to run to the back of the house is going to waste time needed to expeditiously address the problem. It's a no win situation.

First suggestion was wear the gun all the time at home. That means handgun, nobody does housework, watches TV, or grilles with a shotgun on a leash. So, the choice of weapon is important. Where you put it if it's not on your body is, too. Hence the suggestion to have more than one, and definitely in various places around the house. A bit of searching on forums will list just about anywhere possible - at the door, at the entrance to the room, down the hall, and definitely in wherever you designate the safe room.

There's also the issue of why someone would break down the door. Home burglaries are done with a bit more stealth, exactly why people keep guns in safes - to keep the perps from bothering. A safe is hard to miss, they get the message. And since the majority of home gun thefts are cased ahead of time, they get to see where the safe is and watch the owner open it. The #1 rule is never show off your guns, the safe location, or let your "friends and neighbors" bring someone over to show off your guns. Odds are, that guy isn't really a good friend - he's just casing you out.

Second and third rule, don't steal drugs from a dealer, or his girlfriend. The two most common reasons for home invasion are drugs and women. In fact, the latest shooting locally was an estranged husband shooting his wife's new boyfriend right in front of the movie theater. Emptied the gun and didn't even try to get away. Don't be that guy.

There are good reasons to expect it, tho, cop, Highway Patrol, officer of the court, etc. People get upset when they are adjudicated and have to serve time.

Another issue is the layout and landscaping around the home, too. If you are shielded from view by shrubbery and set back from the road, then reconsider whether that's helping. It's usually a better choice for a perpetrator, serial killers like the cover and concealment from your neighbors. Makes their fun last longer. Another issue is how did they get all the way to your front door without making a sound - set up a driveway alarm, it's common in rural areas to have one if a car comes down your lane.

Address the specific issues in the situation, and you find that maybe a shotgun in safe isn't what you need. That money could go a long way to improving home security and prevent the bad guys thinking it would be profitable.

Haven't even started on what kinds of doors to have installed and how to anchor them. Suffice it to say that if the lumberyard or big box sells it, it's crap for security. Hence, how easy it is to kick down the door. And if so, can they just smash a window?
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Old November 7, 2013, 09:49 AM   #10
FAS1
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My HD gun is for when I am most vulnerable.... sleeping. It is mounted to my bed frame for immediate access if needed. It is always there though, as it is a dedicated HD gun. You don't really notice it with the bedspread on.

My CCW usually comes off when home and is placed inside here as well until the next morning.


When awake, I always pocket carry and there is a loaded 12ga in the safe in case I make my way that direction.


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Old November 8, 2013, 03:57 PM   #11
Glockstar .40
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I keep a pistol on my nightstand and everything else in my safe with it shut but unlocked (my safe is about 4 ft from my bed). That way my firearms are in one place and my wife and I dont have to worry about messing with a combination under stress.
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Old November 8, 2013, 04:29 PM   #12
Stevie-Ray
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EDC stays on my until bedtime, or if in jammies relaxing, it sits next to me on side table. At bedtime, it goes on nightstand. Within reach all the time and wife is cool with that.
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Old November 8, 2013, 04:44 PM   #13
pgdion
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Mine is a Cougar kept in the night drawer gun safe right next to the bed. I regularly practice opening it in the dark so the key pattern is automatic.

I keep a full magazine in it with the chamber empty, the time to rack the slide = the time to clear the foggyness when being woke up. Personal preference but I don't want to shoot anything by mistake. That would be the worst possible scenario imo. I feel I have a time edge anyhow. The bedroom is on the second floor and I have a large good dog. Best first defense is a good dog and they make a great friend too.
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Old November 8, 2013, 05:43 PM   #14
markj
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Next to the HD TV
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