I shot my gun in my sleep last night

kershaws · January 29, 2017, 03:35 PM

I usually keep a Mossberg 590a1 by the bedside but have had it taken apart for the past week so i've been keeping a Ruger Mark IV .22 (My only handgun at the moment) on the bed next to me, round in the chamber/safety on.
Today at around 2am I woke up to what sounded like a balloon popping in front of my face, I'm laying on my side and I realize my handgun is in my hand pointing straight down on the bed towards the ground, barrel snuggled right up against my gut. I was in disbelief that I just managed to fire my own gun in my sleep, but behold I found the empty casing by my head, 1 round missing from the magazine and the air smelled of gunpowder.
I never would have thought this would happen but it did, and if that barrel was tilted a few degrees towards me there may be a chance I wouldn't be typing this right now. ND/AD can happen to ANYONE

I would like this to be a lesson to all, to all those who sleep with firearms by them, rethink your options, I suggest instead taking extra safety measures for your home that would delay/deter entrance from an intruder while taking extra measures with your firearms, do NOT sleep with your airweight under your pillow.

Note: Only damage was a hole in my mattress, the round did not make it to my tile floor. (I sleep on two mattresses on top of eachother on a wooden frame)

CWKahrFan · January 29, 2017, 03:41 PM

FWIW, I don't leave a round chambered in mine.

Hoppy · January 29, 2017, 03:49 PM

That's a bit scary. I don't understand putting a loaded handgun on the bed next to you.

The closest a loaded gun was ever kept next to me was in a holster and in the nightstand drawer. I wanted to at least be starting to wake up before the gun was in my hand. With kids, I now have a lock mechanism to get through as well.

If you have a holster you'd be in much better shape. If you want it close perhaps on a belt that is slung over the bedpost or hanging on the wall if no bedpost.

Glad you made it through without a scratch.

jcj54 · January 29, 2017, 04:07 PM

lives in a gun vault on the shelf of my nightstand. The time needed to unlock the vault and get the gun is minimal and it will pose no danger while awaiting the time of need...

NoSecondBest · January 29, 2017, 05:17 PM

I don't think this warning applies to very many people. I've been shooting handguns for almost fifty years and training people on them so they can get CC permits for about twenty-five. You're the first person I've heard about who takes a gun to bed with themselves. You're just asking for trouble doing something this irresponsible. Sorry, but that's what it is. Put it somewhere nearby. You don't need it in bed.

iraiam · January 29, 2017, 05:58 PM

I don't live in a great neighborhood, but I would never take a loaded gun to bed with me, the closest it gets is in the night stand drawer, which I can't quite get to from repose, I have never done anything in my sleep, much less, get up, get my handgun out of the nightstand, take if OFF safe and fire it.

**44 AMP** · January 29, 2017, 06:01 PM

Suggest you seek professional help. If you are performing complex actions in your sleep, you need help. LOTS of it.

Targa · January 29, 2017, 07:27 PM

Yikes!!!

. Thankfully you are alright. Now you know that firearms demand respect.

WyMark · January 29, 2017, 09:04 PM

For some reason this thread made me think of that time back in 1975 when I foolishly referred to my M-16 as a "gun".

I spent an hour on the parade field with my rifle in my right hand and my crotch in my left, screaming at the top of my lungs "THIS IS MY RIFLE, THIS IS MY GUN. THIS IS FOR FIGHTING, THIS IS FOR FUN." Nothing like Basic Training.

Sorry, back to the OP. Sounds like it's a good thing that you sleep alone, and also that that isn't likely to change soon. Sleeping with a loaded weapon in your bed or under your pillow is a very simple recipe for disaster.

olddav · January 29, 2017, 09:26 PM

There's more to this than firearm safety. You picked up a firearm in your sleep and pulled he trigger. That's scary! Untill you find out why you did this perhaps you shouldn't keep a firearm next to your bed. There is no telling where the next bullet is going to end up.

Jim Watson · January 29, 2017, 09:30 PM

Long ago, Jeff Cooper pointed out that if anybody in the household is a sleepwalker, there should not be a loaded gun in the household.

I do not know what treatment might be available now. I was fortunate to outgrow sleepwalking in adolescence. But my parents had some interesting stories.

SC4006 · January 29, 2017, 09:50 PM

That's pretty scary, glad you were not hurt. As others have said, I suppose now is the time to reassess where and how you store your defense weapons.

People have been known to do some quite interesting and complex things while sleeping, including committing homicide. Here is a whole Wikipedia article about "homicidal sleepwalking".

mete · January 29, 2017, 09:58 PM

People sometimes do strange things in their sleep !! Including things like jumping through closed windows !! I've seen videos of things done while asleep !
Causes ? The one I know of is an allergic reaction. Stress can also be a problem. Get some medical help. I strongly suggest finding a cause ! Not just taking a pill for the symptoms !
In the meantime get the gun out of the bedroom and means to make access more complex !

berettaprofessor · January 30, 2017, 09:48 AM

Quote:

FWIW, I don't leave a round chambered in mine.

This. And it's very close but not in my bed. I understand readiness, but if I don't have enough warning time from the alarm and the dog to even grab my glasses and rack the slide, I figure I'm a goner already. Reality must be given its part in whatever self-protection fantasies you contrive.

Skans · January 30, 2017, 10:21 AM

Quote:

ND/AD can happen to ANYONE

This particular scenario is not something I need to worry about. I don't sleep with loaded or unloaded guns in my bed.

5whiskey · January 30, 2017, 11:43 AM

Quote:

do NOT sleep with your airweight under your pillow.

I will not, nor have I ever. Even when I was going through my paranoid phase after my last deployment. I assumed almost anyone who reasons through this thought would realize that a ND is a possibility from thrashing about in your sleep, and decide against it. Nightstand drawer, or in a holster on the nightstand for me.

bn12gg · January 30, 2017, 11:45 AM

Agree with the recommendation that you
seek professional help before someone is hurt.
.02

David.

Ricklin · January 30, 2017, 12:03 PM

Please seek professional help! Do not sleep with your sidearm.

osbornk · January 30, 2017, 02:59 PM

Quote:

FWIW, I don't leave a round chambered in mine.

I don't think that would make any difference. Sleeping people can do some pretty complex things asleep. My wife got out of bed, got scissors and I work up with her cutting the hose on a CPAP machine. She didn't know she did it and still doesn't know why she did it. I don't know how she found the scissors. She does other strange things and has no memory of them.

I would seek professional help before something bad happens.

jackstrawIII · January 30, 2017, 03:08 PM

That's terrifying.

As others have said, I don't keep a round in the chamber, and it's not somewhere I can reach without at least standing up.

Safety first.

Armed_Chicagoan · January 30, 2017, 05:39 PM

For that reason I don't keep a loaded gun in my bedroom. I've been known to sleepwalk on occasion, opening dresser drawers and such. I just don't want to risk it!

Ramey · January 30, 2017, 09:38 PM

Wow pretty scary stuff. Glad you were ok. But should probably rethink how to keep yourself ready for an attack but safe from a negligent discharge.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

jalcon · January 30, 2017, 09:44 PM

Yeah. I'm not sure this really applies to most people. Don't sleep with a loaded gun in bed with you. And if you are doing complex motions like that while sleeping, you need to consult some professional help. Glad you lucked out though.

stephen426 · January 30, 2017, 09:50 PM

I'm glad you are okay. It could have ended much worse. I have this safe mounted between my bed frame and night stand. It is fairly quick to get to, but still requires being conscious enough to key in the code. based on some sleepwalking videos, that probably wouldn't cut it. I don't sleep walk though and I wake up pretty darn quick.

El Paso Joe · January 31, 2017, 12:22 AM

This is something we all need to think about. I spent the summer of 1969 learning how not to sleep. With a gun. A lot of that stuff does not go away. So for years I slept with a gun next to the bed in or on the stand. I have never sleep walked. I can go from asleep to awake in a couple heartbeats.

The practice changed when I started getting meds from the VA and grandkids started having sleep overs. It is more acceptable for the wolley boogers to come in and devour me than confront a small kid who got up for a drink of water. Do not sleep with one anymore. And it is mostly ok. Compared to the alternatives...

January 29, 2017, 03:35 PM	#1
kershaws Junior Member Join Date: January 10, 2015 Posts: 6	I shot my gun in my sleep last night I usually keep a Mossberg 590a1 by the bedside but have had it taken apart for the past week so i've been keeping a Ruger Mark IV .22 (My only handgun at the moment) on the bed next to me, round in the chamber/safety on. Today at around 2am I woke up to what sounded like a balloon popping in front of my face, I'm laying on my side and I realize my handgun is in my hand pointing straight down on the bed towards the ground, barrel snuggled right up against my gut. I was in disbelief that I just managed to fire my own gun in my sleep, but behold I found the empty casing by my head, 1 round missing from the magazine and the air smelled of gunpowder. I never would have thought this would happen but it did, and if that barrel was tilted a few degrees towards me there may be a chance I wouldn't be typing this right now. ND/AD can happen to ANYONE I would like this to be a lesson to all, to all those who sleep with firearms by them, rethink your options, I suggest instead taking extra safety measures for your home that would delay/deter entrance from an intruder while taking extra measures with your firearms, do NOT sleep with your airweight under your pillow. Note: Only damage was a hole in my mattress, the round did not make it to my tile floor. (I sleep on two mattresses on top of eachother on a wooden frame)

January 29, 2017, 03:41 PM	#2
CWKahrFan Senior Member Join Date: November 3, 2010 Posts: 2,016	FWIW, I don't leave a round chambered in mine. __________________ What did Mrs. Bullet say to Mr. Bullet? ... "We're having a BeeBee!"... IF THE SHOE FITS, WEAR IT!... IF THE GUN FITS, SHOOT IT! "Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it."

January 29, 2017, 04:07 PM	#4
jcj54 Senior Member Join Date: February 28, 2011 Posts: 218	My loaded handgun lives in a gun vault on the shelf of my nightstand. The time needed to unlock the vault and get the gun is minimal and it will pose no danger while awaiting the time of need...

January 29, 2017, 05:58 PM	#6
iraiam Senior Member Join Date: September 6, 2012 Location: Lakewood, CO Posts: 1,057	I don't live in a great neighborhood, but I would never take a loaded gun to bed with me, the closest it gets is in the night stand drawer, which I can't quite get to from repose, I have never done anything in my sleep, much less, get up, get my handgun out of the nightstand, take if OFF safe and fire it. __________________ NRA Lifetime Member Since 1999 "I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few public officials." George Mason

January 29, 2017, 06:01 PM	#7
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,832	Suggest you seek professional help. If you are performing complex actions in your sleep, you need help. LOTS of it. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

January 29, 2017, 03:49 PM	#3
Hoppy Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2000 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 287	That's a bit scary. I don't understand putting a loaded handgun on the bed next to you. The closest a loaded gun was ever kept next to me was in a holster and in the nightstand drawer. I wanted to at least be starting to wake up before the gun was in my hand. With kids, I now have a lock mechanism to get through as well. If you have a holster you'd be in much better shape. If you want it close perhaps on a belt that is slung over the bedpost or hanging on the wall if no bedpost. Glad you made it through without a scratch.

January 29, 2017, 05:17 PM	#5
NoSecondBest Senior Member Join Date: December 7, 2009 Location: Western New York Posts: 2,736	I don't think this warning applies to very many people. I've been shooting handguns for almost fifty years and training people on them so they can get CC permits for about twenty-five. You're the first person I've heard about who takes a gun to bed with themselves. You're just asking for trouble doing something this irresponsible. Sorry, but that's what it is. Put it somewhere nearby. You don't need it in bed.

January 29, 2017, 07:27 PM	#8
Targa Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2014 Posts: 2,084	Yikes!!!. Thankfully you are alright. Now you know that firearms demand respect.

January 29, 2017, 09:04 PM	#9
WyMark Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2011 Location: Wyoming Posts: 647	For some reason this thread made me think of that time back in 1975 when I foolishly referred to my M-16 as a "gun". I spent an hour on the parade field with my rifle in my right hand and my crotch in my left, screaming at the top of my lungs "THIS IS MY RIFLE, THIS IS MY GUN. THIS IS FOR FIGHTING, THIS IS FOR FUN." Nothing like Basic Training. Sorry, back to the OP. Sounds like it's a good thing that you sleep alone, and also that that isn't likely to change soon. Sleeping with a loaded weapon in your bed or under your pillow is a very simple recipe for disaster.

January 29, 2017, 09:26 PM	#10
olddav Senior Member Join Date: December 21, 2008 Location: Lower Alabama Posts: 727	There's more to this than firearm safety. You picked up a firearm in your sleep and pulled he trigger. That's scary! Untill you find out why you did this perhaps you shouldn't keep a firearm next to your bed. There is no telling where the next bullet is going to end up. __________________ Never beat your head against the wall with out a helmet

January 29, 2017, 09:30 PM	#11
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,541	Long ago, Jeff Cooper pointed out that if anybody in the household is a sleepwalker, there should not be a loaded gun in the household. I do not know what treatment might be available now. I was fortunate to outgrow sleepwalking in adolescence. But my parents had some interesting stories.

January 29, 2017, 09:50 PM	#12
SC4006 Senior Member Join Date: June 27, 2012 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 525	That's pretty scary, glad you were not hurt. As others have said, I suppose now is the time to reassess where and how you store your defense weapons. People have been known to do some quite interesting and complex things while sleeping, including committing homicide. Here is a whole Wikipedia article about "homicidal sleepwalking". __________________ I don't always go to the range, but when I do, I prefer dosAKs. They say 5 out of 4 people are bad at math.

January 29, 2017, 09:58 PM	#13
mete Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2004 Location: NY State Posts: 6,575	People sometimes do strange things in their sleep !! Including things like jumping through closed windows !! I've seen videos of things done while asleep ! Causes ? The one I know of is an allergic reaction. Stress can also be a problem. Get some medical help. I strongly suggest finding a cause ! Not just taking a pill for the symptoms ! In the meantime get the gun out of the bedroom and means to make access more complex ! __________________ And Watson , bring your revolver !

January 30, 2017, 11:45 AM	#17
bn12gg Senior Member Join Date: February 19, 2011 Location: Winter Park, Florida Posts: 470	Agree with the recommendation that you seek professional help before someone is hurt. .02 David.

January 30, 2017, 12:03 PM	#18
Ricklin Senior Member Join Date: February 22, 2008 Location: SW Washington state Posts: 2,011	Please seek professional help! Do not sleep with your sidearm. __________________ ricklin Freedom is not free

January 30, 2017, 03:08 PM	#20
jackstrawIII Senior Member Join Date: July 20, 2016 Location: Upstate NY. Posts: 901	That's terrifying. As others have said, I don't keep a round in the chamber, and it's not somewhere I can reach without at least standing up. Safety first. __________________ In God we trust.

January 30, 2017, 05:39 PM	#21
Armed_Chicagoan Senior Member Join Date: July 18, 2013 Location: Albany Park, Chicago Posts: 776	For that reason I don't keep a loaded gun in my bedroom. I've been known to sleepwalk on occasion, opening dresser drawers and such. I just don't want to risk it!

January 30, 2017, 09:38 PM	#22
Ramey Member Join Date: December 1, 2016 Posts: 60	Wow pretty scary stuff. Glad you were ok. But should probably rethink how to keep yourself ready for an attack but safe from a negligent discharge. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

January 30, 2017, 09:44 PM	#23
jalcon Junior Member Join Date: February 13, 2013 Posts: 14	Yeah. I'm not sure this really applies to most people. Don't sleep with a loaded gun in bed with you. And if you are doing complex motions like that while sleeping, you need to consult some professional help. Glad you lucked out though.

January 30, 2017, 09:50 PM	#24
stephen426 Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2005 Posts: 3,840	I'm glad you are okay. It could have ended much worse. I have this safe mounted between my bed frame and night stand. It is fairly quick to get to, but still requires being conscious enough to key in the code. based on some sleepwalking videos, that probably wouldn't cut it. I don't sleep walk though and I wake up pretty darn quick. __________________ The ATF should be a convenience store instead of a government agency!

January 31, 2017, 12:22 AM	#25
El Paso Joe Senior Member Join Date: July 4, 2006 Location: Spokane Valley Posts: 340	This is something we all need to think about. I spent the summer of 1969 learning how not to sleep. With a gun. A lot of that stuff does not go away. So for years I slept with a gun next to the bed in or on the stand. I have never sleep walked. I can go from asleep to awake in a couple heartbeats. The practice changed when I started getting meds from the VA and grandkids started having sleep overs. It is more acceptable for the wolley boogers to come in and devour me than confront a small kid who got up for a drink of water. Do not sleep with one anymore. And it is mostly ok. Compared to the alternatives...