sleeping with your gun?

[pocketman]

on your person? does anybody do this,as of yet i have not but have been considdering different methods (ankle or thuderware?),my main reason for this thought is to be able to have a firearm accesable and quickly available but in a safe location under my control with small children in the home,before the little ones I could simply keep my gun in a bedside holster while sleeping and on a counter near by while home not dressed but in sleepin attair(sweatpants)my question is am I being overly cautious,not from a safty stand point,I can never be to safe, but from a having control of my gun/also access if needed.?? my babies are not babies anymore so high shelves are not acceptable and I have never been compleatly comfortable sleeping with my gun in the quick access safe next to our bed for fear of fumbling with it or it being seen by an intruder and simply moved away.

[ctdonath]

Beware of sleepwalking.

[C.R.Sam]

Could raise nightmares to a new level of intensity.

Sam

[Hard Ball]

A way to do it if you feel you need to do it is to use a short, soft learther lanyare and attach your pistol to your wrist.

[riddleofsteel]

try one of the elastic calf holsters for a j frame or one of the small flat semiautos. they are comfortable, do not get in the way and all you have to do is reach down while drawing up your leg to access the weapon. much easier laying down than standing up.

[MH]

I keep a semi-auto without a round in the chamber close to the bed next to me. It is in a holster. I would have to wake up, remove the gun from the holster, and then rack the slide. This reduces the chance of an error before waking up. Same could go for a shotgun. Keep it without a round in the chamber.

[harley45]

I keep a .45 with 2 spare magds and a flashlight in a quick access safe that is bolted under my bed. practice getting to it in the dark a few times and you will begin to feel more secure

[justice4all]

I grew up with guns all around the house, and there was never a problem. This has been going on for generations in my family, on both sides. The most important thing is education.

Having said that, maybe you'd like to lock up all but one gun, and leave it under your pillow or mattress within easy reach.

Overnight, no. But I have been known to take a clothed nap with my Beretta on my hip.

[tlhelmer]

Talk about a lump in the mattress.

[Fraser]

A widow I know with 2 young children sleeps with a J frame in a calf/ankle holster. Lives out in the country in a house hidden from the road. Response time is very long, say 30-45 minutes. Even if a BG jumps on her she can readily reach the pistol and end the situation in her favor.

For those who camp, Jeff Cooper recommends a 1 meter lanyard attached to the wrist and pistol. That's what I do. Gives adequate slack for my tossing and turning.

[riddleofsteel]

well i have been known to sleep with my "GUN" in my hand. oh... oops.... i guess that is a different topic.

LOL

[MH]

Well, Riddle, anyone who sleeps with their gun in their hand would be prone to having accidental discharges!

[Juan Hunt Greer]

Sleep every night with Colt's combat commander Under pillow near left cheek. I do NOT change positions in my sleep. On rare occasions, I wake about 80% to make a change, and change pistol position accordingly. I think that the reason I don't move much is my lung condition ( asbestosis) ; my mind sleeps moderately lightly, while my physical metabolism sinks almost into a coma state. If I sleep more than about 7 hours, I wake with my back VERY stiff.
crankshaft
paranoia, a good reason to sleep lightly!

[dvc]

Not me. I don't sleep with my gun. That would be...well... kinky. I put the gun into a small safe bolted to the floor between the bed and nightstand.

I don't advocate sleeping with a gun on the nightstand. Several years ago, I had a house mate who would sleep with a cocked 'n locked .45 on the nightstand. One night when he was sound asleep, I walked in quietly and removed the gun. In its place I left a note that read, "Bang! You're dead."

Needless to say, he was quickly broke of that stupid habit.

This was someone who even boasted about being a 'light sleeper'...

[Art Eatman]

If your kids are older than four or five, they should be in the learning process about not messing with your guns. They should have their own cap pistols or water pistols, so they have the sense of possession of "my gun!".

This keeps them from coming into your bedroom and meddling with your gun while you're asleep. Other times, your guns are either in use, on your person, or locked up. (Generally, mostly, approximately) A lockable closet for "casual" security is a Good Thing.

Unless you're cuddled up to Sweet Thing, you could just lay the pistol on the mattress, to your strong side. Position yourself to leave room. If you roll over on it during the night, that cold metal will sure wake you up; I know! It's a self-training process in not-rolling.

If you sleep toward an edge of a bed and all this is awkward, just get a piece of 1/4" welding rod. Bend a ping-pong paddle sized loop, with the "handle" then bent upward maybe 45 degrees from vertical. Cut this handle to 4" and wrap with black plastic tape. Put the paddle between the mattress and spring; put the muzzle down onto the handle. Reshape and adjust handle as appropriate. Ready to hand, hidden by the covers.

FWIW, Art

[jah]

Ever since competing in the southeast asia war games I sleep with a handgun in arms reach and a 500 Mossberg riot under the edge of the bed.

[PeterGunn]

A nickled Bersa Series 95 in .380 rests under my pillow while I slumber. The chamber is loaded and the safety is ON with the hammer DOWN.

That bozo better be calling my name while I am waking up or he will have an extra belly button.

The fact the gun is under the pillow can give an extra measure of surprise to your uninvited house guest. Now if its on nightstand, on the floor, or anywhere in plain view, it will be a race to see who can get to it first. No thanks, I refuse to be a victim. You guys can take your chances with the holsters and open view techniques, but the woman who sleeps by my side every night is worth more to me than my own life. The gun stays under the pillow...and the faint aroma of Hoppe"s #9 comforts me into comfortable, SECURE sleep.

Nighty-night,

[pocketman]

Thanks for the replies...some of you guys are maddogs! btw my twins are a few months shy of 3 so they are not ready to be exposed to guns,hence my concerns. I like the ankle holster idea gonna give ie a try.

[LawDog]

During a friskier time in my lifespan, I woke up to find a known personal enemy standing at the foot of my bed with a machete. In reality, I was having a waking dream/nightmare and really woke up at about the time that my third round went through the bedroom wall.

Printed a nice group, though.

My bedroom guns are hammer down on an empty chamber under the bed or in the bedside table, and I rely on alarms/dogs/whathaveyou to wake me up in time to retrieve a weapon and chamber a round.

I also don't have any children, but when the nephews and niece spend the night all loose guns get locked away.

LawDog

[Ledbetter]

Me: five button safe in the bottom drawer of the nightstand. Takes four keypresses to open and contains CZ-75 with extra mag. Have to be fully awake to access gun.

[czman]

When the only kids in the house are my own, I keep my gun in holster on the nightstand, other kids around I keep it in a 5 button (finger hole type) handgun safe.
.....CZ.....

[10CFR]

Provided you're not living under some extroardinary kind of immediate threat, I don't think it's a good idea. I don't think anyone should keep a gun where they can get it into action before they are completely conscious and sure of their judgement. This may mean different things for different people, depending on how quickly they wake up enough to adequately assess their surroundings, or on who else resides in the household or might come to the house in the wee hours for emergency help, etc. Lot's of things to consider here. You don't want to make a greivous mistake you can't take back.

-10CFR

[bullfrog99]

I garentee(how's that word spelled again) you snap into conciousness real quick when some scumbag kicks down your door at 2 AM. as for sleeping with guns? I have a small arsonel within 3 feet of where I sleep, and a 3 foot long sward under my matress, not to mention the loaded mac 11 just hanging over my bed like some pagen (hooked on phonics worked for me) religious symbol. I don't think I need to strap something on me while I snooze, I feel plenty secure.
(when i camp though, i have 4 pistols and an ar-15 on my person when i sleep, i hate bears)

[oktagon]

My primary carry gun is under the pillow (P7M8).
Second gun is on the night stand (S&W 645, Coonan 357 or Beretta Cougar 9mm). Spare ammo for both.
Benelli M1 Super 90 loaded with 00 buck is next to the bed.
My girlfriend (current) is card carrying member of HCI.
Use your emagination to reconstruct a bed time conversation
LOL