Loaded gun within reach of bed. Bad idea?

[Bluestarlizzard]

Is it? I would think if the burglar's primary goal was to avoid the occupants, he/she would make entry during the day when it is far less likely that anyone would be home.

Well, so would I. However, your question specifically mentioned burgerlers who come in at night.

Unless your opening this up to theives who double as pyscho bullies who want to hurt people and take stuff at the same time, yes, I would think the commen run of burgelers are ampting to avoid those they steal from.
And it's not like we're talking about folks all that bright in the first place.

[besafe2]

Regular burglar avoids occupants if possible, home invader goes for occupant.

[SauerGrapes]

I have two furry burglar alarms, Max and Bandit. If they didn't wake me up then it isn't real.

I have a similar alarm. Cody goes crazy at the slightest ''bump in the night''. I keep a handgun in my sock drawer at night. My wife has her revolver in the night stand drawer.

[Major Dave (retired)]

I know because I was a Texas "Pre parole" officer for 12 years, which required me to interview criminals prior to their parole board decision vote.

I vividly remember a burglar who entered an occupied home late one night, stole a pistol off the coffee table, and left without awakening the lady asleep on the sofa, beside the coffee table!

Her pistol was the only thing stolen!

He said he did things like that (entering homes he knew were occupied) because it gave him an unbelievable adrenalin rush that he was addicted to.

On the other hand, a burglar confided in me that he always approached homes that were completely dark (no lights on), and surrounded by bushes he could hide in. Then he would throw a brick (which he carried to each crime scene) thru the bathroom window (the small window between the other, larger windows). When the thrown brick clattered noisily into the bathroom (usually landing in the bath tub), he waited for barking dogs, lights coming on, loud talking/yelling etc., from inside the house. If any of these things happened, he would simply run away in the dark. If no signs of alarm were apparent, he would climb thru the broken bathroom window and steal whatever was on hand.

Not all of them are low IQ.

[SgtLumpy]

Not all of them are low IQ.

No, they're not. And of course, IQ has nothing to do with being a successful burglar.

Nearly every burglar commits dozens more burglaries than we commit defenses of our homes. They're much more practiced at it.

And, um, they don't wear those little black eye masks like in the cartoons.


Sgt Lumpy

[skizzums]

i dont think anyone was saying that leaving your gun out on the coffe table in your living room was a good idea. but under my pillow......GREAT IDEA!!! good luck getting that out from under me, im a very very light and paranoid sleeper. and also, all people that break into homes aren't "burglars", some are armed and some are just crazy. there's rapists, pedophiles, gang members, drug addicts and murderers. and the ones that are bad enough to kill you, probably already have a weapon, yours isnt going to make a difference. my brother got his door kicked in in broad daylight, pistol whipped and hog-tied while the other guy held his girlfriend at gun-point, after they had a boot-party on his face(he was on life-support for 2-days), they stole everything. targeted him because they saw nursing places coming to the house during the day because his girl is very sick and they assumed they would find lots of pills in the home. lucky they caught the guys. i hate to have to be paraniod all the time, but if you want to be you and your family to be truly safe, you need to home-carry and be trained, even then, it's a toss-up depending on the situation.

[Gomonroe1]

I'm a very light sleeper that wakes up multiple times a night. Not uncommon to be a little groggy as I drift in and out of sleep. I have asked myself same question as OP on many occasion. I came to conclusion that nightstand loaded but not chambered was best scenario for me. Access I desire with just enough effort required to prevent an unintended action.

[fileophile]

Consider the children in storing your firearm, and think especially hard about grandchildren, visiting children, or mentally challenged people who may legitimately be in your home.

[doofus47]

major dave :

a burglar confided in me that he ... would throw a brick

There's a Colorado version of that. I was talking to a younger neighbor who had less sense than desire to impress. He told me that his friends who rob houses smack the garage doors late at night and if no one comes to the door or no lights go on inside, they rob that house.

(FWIW, I'm betting no one here thinks that my neighbor kid is cool either)

[ares338]

85 lb Pyr in the front yard, 110 lb Anatolian Shepard in the back yard, 120 lb Pyr in the bedroom and 2 yappy poodles in the living room. Not to mention XDS 45 ACP on my night stand and a 9mm on my wife's. I sleep well!

[captainrock39]

My dogs will be my alarm if something's going on at anytime

[wayneinFL]

Then he would throw a brick (which he carried to each crime scene) thru the bathroom window (the small window between the other, larger windows). When the thrown brick clattered noisily into the bathroom (usually landing in the bath tub), he waited for barking dogs, lights coming on, loud talking/yelling etc., from inside the house.

I knew one who would hide in the bushes and night with a pellet gun and shoot windows out of cars. He'd wait about 15 minutes. If an alarm went off, or someone came out of the house, he'd run off. If not, he'd steal stuff out of the car.

[pandafp]

why not put it in a keypad safe next to your bed? You can also adopt what we call in Detroit the "ghetto lock" and put a couch behind the door (I only have 1 since its an apartment) and that will hopefully wake you up and stall if the intruder is trying to get through

[Garycw]

Potato/Patawto its a matter of preference. I have no kids in the house, am a light sleeper and keep mine cocked & locked next to flashlight. I cant see that ever changing. Every situation is different. What's right for one may not be for another for many reasons.
The end!

[Auto5]

My kids are grown now, but the grandkids are frequent visitors and, more often than not, one or both of them end up in our bed. I keep my Browning Hi Power loaded in a keypad operated lockbox in my nightstand. The pad lights up when you touch it, but I can punch in the code with my eyes closed anyway.

[Justice06RR]

No kids, no dogs for me. Loaded Mossberg500 next to the bed with a mounted flashlight, safety on.

If anyone feels uncomfortable having a firearm Condition1 within arms reach, maybe leave the chamber unloaded with a full magazine instead.

[Bullcamp82834]

Of course I keep a loaded handgun within reach. And a loaded shotgun one step away from the bed. I have used that buckshot loaded shotgun in the middle of the night too, on several occasions. Just not on people.

My dogs don't miss a thing and from the time they get started I have plenty of time to assess the situation and arm myself appropriately.

[9ballbilly]

I agree with the general consensus that everyone's circumstances are different and there is no "one size fits all solution". I sleep with a loaded revolver next to my bed. No dogs or small children to worry about.

[baddarryl]

I know a guy that woke up with a large man trying to strangle him. If he didn't have one under the pillow, he'd be dead. FACT.

[bird_dog]

I have a golden retriever who sleeps next to my bed, and a lab who sleeps on the bed at the other end of the house. They're both very attuned to people moving around outside, even neighbors. Bumps in the night, or car doors slamming out in the road (very rural area) do not go un-noticed, and those dogs are ferocious when they think something is up.

My bedside gun is just a little more than an arm's reach away on a nearby table, loaded and chambered. With the dogs on duty, I have no doubt that I'd have time to reach for it before anyone could get anywhere near me.

(As an aside, two nights ago our neighbor's house was burglarized. This is NOT a high crime area! I was watching TV around 11pm, and the dogs went ballistic. I went outside and looked around the house. Nothing. Motion detector lights not on, nor at my neighbor's house. Found out the next day that someone had put a ladder up to the back window of her house, completely out of sight of our house, and had broken in and robbed her while she slept. Scary. But that wouldn't have happened at my house, not with the dogs.)

[Rifleman1776]

I have been off forum for a while so apologize if I have already responded to this thread.
I keep a pistol at the head of my bed ready for use.
If grand children come to visit it is put in safe.

[spaniel]

Safety mentality won't let me leave a loaded, unsecured weapon in the house.

Further, I have three young children.

We did have one attempted home invasion several years ago. We had been gone for 10 days, then came home. A couple days later we realized the landline...which we seldom use...had been cut, in an obvious attempt to disable our alarm system. All we can figure is they realized we were back home before making entry and gave up.

But I realized that despite having plenty of arms to defend ourselves, in that case none would have been available (locked in another room). So now we have a biometric safe under the bed with two guns in it...one for each of us, so if I need to go protect the kids the wife is not left impotent. We also have one furry mouth of teeth that sleeps in our bedroom, and another that prefers the mat in front of the main door.

In any scenario the few seconds to open the safe should not be an issue, given the dogs. The safety factor far outweighs the cost.

Under the pillow, really? My hands are in and out of there all night. My wife sleeps next to me, the gun could easily spin to point right at her. Manual safety or not, no thanks.

[Jimmy96a1]

Hello firingline! This is my first reply/post ever, I keep my beretta cocked and locked on the bedside table inside a soft case with a zipper,saftey on. No kids in the house and my girlfriend is familiar with how its stored. I have never reached for it while asleep but when the dog barks its real easy to unzip and pull out. Like my brother always says, "you wouldent leave your car in the garage without gas."

[manta49]

I know a guy that woke up with a large man trying to strangle him. If he didn't have one under the pillow, he'd be dead. FACT.

The question I would be asking is how did a large man get into his house to try and strangle him. He would need to look at his house security first. People should do what is appropriate for them and what they are comfortable with.

[spacemanspiff]

What about sleepwalkers? I have found my wife sleepwalking out in our living room. Wouldn't respond to my voice asking her what she was doing. Creeped me out.