Night Stand: Concealed or Open?

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A small cash box from Vaultz (about $20 from Walgreen's or wherever) has a combination lock. It holds my .38, loaded, and two speedloaders. This sits on my nightstand, closed and latched, but not locked. When the kids come around, I can scramble the lock with one thumb in about two seconds. It has a top-mounted handle, so I can carry it from room to room without toppling the contents. This has worked well for the last few years.

Derry
 
Der Stro said:
Personally I bought a cheap drop leg, one of the $20 cheaper than dirt deals, took all the straps off, and used the velcro to attach it to the bedframe. Its hidden by the bedskirt but very accessible. Like many, I keep my weapon loaded, but without a round in battery so as to not be so quick to pull the trigger. The neat thing about the holster is the spare magazine pouch in the front where I stuck a very bright little flashlight.
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Excellent idea, Der Stro. Thank you for sharing!
 
i keep my sig p228 with night sights on my night stand, with one in the chamber & decocked. without kids in the house this isnt a problem for me. i have a little go bag with 2 mags, a flashlight & small knife on the outside & two more mags on the inside, with a shoulder strap. i also put something in front of the door so if they come barging in it will buy me a few seconds, which should be enough since im a light sleeper & handgun is whithin arms reach. a good dog is on the list for the future. the heavy duty door sounds like it would also be a good investment, i will have to look into them.
 
Well, call me crazy but when I am in bed alone, my trusty S&W 459 double action/single action with a real hammer is loaded and chambered in a zippered case partially unzipped and under the pillow on the unoccupied side of the bed. I've been doing that for 25 years or so (when alone) without incident. I can't get to the trigger without trying but it is within easy reach since I am a "stomach sleeper". When not alone, it's been in multiple locations depending on who is sleeping with me or who is in the house.

Once I find "the house" I'm willing to retire in I will have an alarm system installed. No thanks on the dog, I'm gone too much to be fair to the dog and I hate cleaning up dog hair.
 
Glock loaded and chambered on nightstand.
I bought one of these > Click < years ago and love it. Mounts under desk or any surface you can screw into. Allows you to just sweep the gun into action.
 
About the sound sleeper part:

Several ways to go. As already mentioned, a yappy dog will work. For something that eats less and won't poop on your rugs, consider a motion sensing area alarm. There are some cool ones these days. I have one that works on radar and sees through walls!

Or... For many years shopkeepers have used chimes or bells or beepy things to let them know when someone has walked into the shop. Cheap and available.
 
I am awake and alert in an instant-pretty much all my life. My gun sits on the nightstand right next to me cocked and locked. My wife hears everything. She's our early warning system.
 
I DO have a kid in the house and although she is only 2 1/2 she knows NOT to touch ANY guns- just like I did at that age, one of the few rules I never violated as a kid.
And I keeps one in the chamber in case you pondering.
 
I didn't read every post so this might have been mentioned already. I keep my CCW pistol loaded/chambered by the bedside (basically just where I put it when I get undressed) and have a Mossberg 500 loaded but not chambered leaned up against the bed frame. When I leave the CCW goes with me and the shotty is usually tucked behind where it can't be easily seen.

On my wife's nightstand is her .380. She doesn't have her CHL so it just sits there all day, loaded/chambered. I didn't like the idea of it just being in the open in case someone broke in the house while we are out so I bought a concealment book. It's a real hard cover book with the center cut out about half way into where the pistol and a spare mag rest. Works perfectly, doesn't take any time to retrieve and most importantly won't attract a burglar's attention. Seriously, who would look at a book on the nightstand and want to steal that?

BTW, no kids and a dog.
 
First, I reach for these:

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Otherwise I'm just as likely to threaten an intruder...with my wallet...or my keys..or the book I was reading. :)
 
I didn't read every post so this might have been mentioned already.
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Not to be rude, but that is what leads to threads going in circles and getting closed.
 
I have two large Labrador Retrievers who's combined menacing barking would make a bear cry. I don't know anyone brave enough to advance against the sounds these dogs make, little do they know on the other side of the door are just two happy, goofy labs!

That said, I leave my auto pistol sitting on the nightstand, mag loaded, action open. So it's just a matter of gripping the gun and releasing the action. Some people might argue against this, that it's an extra step, well, it is. No denying that.
 
Loaded/Not chambered 870 shotgun by the bed, not hidden (or decorated :neener:), just leaned against the wall. XD9 loaded in drawer by bed. CC .38 sometimes sleeps in there. Sometimes I lay it on the bed when I'm watching TV and cover it with my hat. If I fall asleep it sleeps there. I used to keep my XD9 under my other pillow too. G/F unfamiliar with this habit flopping onto my bed changed that. :)
I tend to sleep thru bells and buzzers so electronic warning devices never helped wake me. But a 65lb puppy leaping from near my feet wakes me instantly. Door always closed and locked.
No kids, just me and my dog, sometimes my woman.
 
Simply because the way my room is set up, There is no way any criminal could reach my gun without, literally, climbing over me to grab it. I leave it chambered and in a leather holster plus I have a 1100 chambered with the safety on inbetween my mattress and the wall and covered with my blanket when I sleep.

Only thing a home invader will hear is the quiet *tink* of the safety being pushed off.
 
Rexster said:
I keep two Boston Terrorists in kennel-crates right by the bedroom door while I sleep. (Yes, they are very good watchdogs, especially the male.) I keep the firearms out of sight. The handguns have rounds chambered, and the shotguns have empty chambers. If indications are really bad, I can slide a loaded mag into a rifle.

Other dogs elsewhere in the house and yard will probably serve as an earlier warning; the Bostons are a back-up alarm.
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I've got a two year old female Boston "terrorist" as well.

Now that she's two and doesn't chew things up as much I've purposely removed the crate and setup a bed for her in our bedroom, she "alerts" to noises more readily when she is not in the safety of her crate where she doesn't care who comes or goes. In her crate she won't say a word when my wife comes home, out of her crate if my wife comes home she'll bark at first if the front door surprises her.

She's only really given me a startle one time at night. Apparently the neighbor upstairs was thumping around (apartment complex joys) and startled her so she jumped up and started barking. Scared me half to death. First step was to get the dog to be quiet so I could hear and thats when i heard the neighbor moving furniture or something like that upstairs. In hindsight I should have taken the gun out of the gun safe in the drawer next to me right off the bat just in case somebody had just made entry into the apartment... Glad i was able to experience a false alarm like this so i know what it feels like.

For me, its a loaded .38 snubbie in the safe with a flashlight right next to the bed. Its a compromise between my wife and I, I would like it out, she wants it in the closet or somewhere other than the bedroom so a quick access safe in the drawer is our compromise.
 
I have children. I am raising them with a very healthy respect for firearms, but their ages are 3 and 7. My pistol is in a lock box, accessed by electronic key code. I routinely practice opening this box in the dark, by feel, to ensure I can access my pistol quickly yet kept away from the undeniable child's curiosity.
 
Obviously, I can't be armed at college :(, however, I still keep my Nerf next to me open and loaded and chambered in case of a flash fight and as practice for later in life.
 
I have a dog, but he has had both ear canals removed. He's also on phenobarbital for seizures, so he sleeps like a rock. And he's a cocker spaniel, so all he'd do is wag his tail and get excited, not bark. I'm the guard dog I guess.

I keep a pistol, a G21 ready to go with no holster; it is the only one I have that has a light/laser on it too. That is where those things shine, when something goes bump in the night. I keep my M4, unchambered but close, and I keep my carry pistol in the holster there too. Mostly because it stays loaded except for cleaning and I just want it secure --my wife keeps her bag close too for the same reason.

To prevent it being used on me while I sleep, I also have an alarm. You'd be hard pressed to get in here without being detected, I'd say it is probably impossible without special gear and knowledge. As an ex-tech, I did it myself and I know it works. No cut corners.

When I'm gone, they all get locked up.

I just don't need a holster on the nightstand pistol, if I were to holster it I'd just use my carry piece. But because I don't need the holster, I can use a monster like the G21 with a light/laser. It's a great nightstand pistol. I do keep it such that I won't have an AD if I reach for something on the nightstand, and where it can't fall. Safe, but ready to go.
 
(partial quote) I have a dog, but he has had both ear canals removed. He's also on phenobarbital for seizures, so he sleeps like a rock. And he's a cocker spaniel, so all he'd do is wag his tail and get excited, not bark. I'm the guard dog I guess.
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Life is cyclical. Usually it's them for us. Near the end it's us for them. Overall, they gave more than they got. They're worth our very best returns.:)
 
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