Put to the test

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youll see posts of people who "tested" themselves, claiming they can get up and have a weapon in hand in under 10 seconds........well, those people planned to be woken up and go straight to a weapon....

i would be interested to see how fast their times are under a similar "real world" circumstance to yours.....ide bet my hat they wouldnt be significantly faster.
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I have to disagree, I can wake up and have my weapon ready in 10 seconds or less, drilling or not. The reason? I go to bed every night with the mentality that I may have to use my weapon that night. Sure I go through drills but in real life it's all about how I'm woken up. If the phone rings, or my fiance wakes me, or any of my family wakes me, then I'm fine. If I'm sleeping and I hear my front door kicked off it's hinges, then I will be up and ready VERY quickly. It's an awareness thing.
 
I think you did very well. Having an alarm system is a huge plus.

I second the Gun Vault in the bedroom closet suggestion -- I like mine.

Re: chambered or not, that is up to you. With a 5-year-old in the house, you MUST be extra careful.
 
I highly recommend the Fort Knox gun box with a Simplex lock. No batteries, easy to do the combo quickly in the dark. http://www.ftknox.com/redesign/pistolboxes/ I keep it next to the bed, gonna get one for my wife soon. Our little one is still too young to be a worry but it's a good way to be sure I'm awake and that the wrong person can't get it.
 
Good Lord... no one should ever surprise anybody late at night while they're sleeping especially if they have a gun.
 
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Well IMHO the 1st thing you need to do is get the keys away from your inlaws. I would give them a good talking to too. :scrutiny: I also believe in yelling to whom ever/what ever is in the house the as well. And always keep around in the chamber with the safety on if poss.
 
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Not trying to be Captain Hindsight here, but you could have at least yelled a challenge before readying yourself to fire. Otherwise, very well handled.
 
I would also advise you to keep the gun closer to you and your wife at night. Waking up in the middle of the night and making a announcement that you are armed with a gun will also buy you time so you can get your gun.

You could set a motion sensor up at the front and rear door. When the sensor is activated, a light, bell or alarm will gooff in your bedroom before they get into the house. That will also buy you some time.

Also you should have a good flash light with your gun also.
 
I find it amazing that, in a situation where the sleep-dazed OP came dangerously close to drawing on his in-laws, the suggestions are to make the gun more accessible.

Unless you live in a combat zone or a TERRIBLE neighborhood, you will have far more false alarms than real alarms in your life. If it takes you many seconds to wake up, the last thing you want is a gun in your hands while in that decisionally-challenged state.

I keep my HD pistol unloaded precisely because I want to have to make four discreet moves to deploy it - retrieve it, put in the magazine, operate the slide, take off the safety. If I can do that, I expect I'll be awake enough to wield deadly force. If not, then I don't want myself firing a gun.
 
In my younger days (up to early twenties) I slept like a rock... a dead rock. If I did awaken in the middle of the night I was groggy and maybe even half dreaming. I didn't keep a firearm where I could get to it quickly. As I got older my sleep habits changed. These days I'm lucky to get a half decent 5 hours... very lucky. And when I'm awakened I'm instantly wide awake so I keep a firearm within arm's reach. Should my brain become so fried that I shouldn't have a firearm then I'll sell some and pack others away in a safe. They're largely for investment anyway like the ammo I've collected.
 
I do not want to go from deep sleep to holding a loaded firearm in my hands in 10 seconds. I have my G22 in one of the clock wall safes above my head without one in the chamber. I have to get up ,open clock, chamber ,and then I am ready. I also have a shotgun in the corner, loaded but not chambered.
No alarm but a Jack Russell that thinks he weigh's 400 pounds. I feel comfortable he can keep'em occupied till I have my head screwed on.
 
I hear what some of you are saying about not wanting the gun TOO accessible. I used to keep a pistol in the nightstand right next to me, or a shotgun right under the bed next to me, but there were several times I was awakened by noises or a dream or whatnot and jumped up and armed myself, only to realize after a few seconds that there was no threat. It freaked out my girlfriend and she insisted I keep the guns somewhere where I actually have to think consciously a little bit before i get to them. She was worried about me accidentally shooting her when she is coming back from the bathroom or something, and me not thinking clearly.

So now I store my shotgun in the closet across the room from the bed, chambered with the safety on. That way I actually have to get up, open the door, get the gun, and turn off the safety before I can do anything. It works. Sometimes I will wake up with a start, and think about arming myself, but upon a few seconds reflection realize that it was just a dream or some innocuous sound. I haven't armed myself without cause since I started storing it that way a few years ago.

There was a time it sounded like somebody came in our screened in porch at night, and I took the shotgun outside to look around... but I did it consciously and rationally (and made sure my GF knew what was going on before I did). And it doesn't take me too long to get to it if I really need it. Also our bedroom is upstairs and all the way at the end of the hall, so if somebody kicks in the door or breaks a window, I will have plenty of time to arm myself even if they head straight for the bedroom.

I also like to keep guns in different parts of the house, so they are accessible in a few seconds no matter where you are. That came in handy just yesterday. The dog was going crazy at something in the yard, so I went out to check it out, with a pistol in my pocket. It turned out there were some kids down the street whose 2 rottweilers got away from and they were nosing around in my yard. They were good natured dogs and went back to their owners without any trouble, but in case they weren't it would have been nice to quickly have my gun in my hand to defend myself or my property.

Whoever said that you will have a lot more false alarms than real emergencies is absolutely right.
 
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Henschman, one very real problem with going outside with gun in hand is the risk of ambush by one or more violent criminal actors.

Another is the risk of being mistaken for a criminal by an arriving officer who had been summoned by someone else.

Yet another is the risk of being shot by an armed citizen who had the same bad idea.

The firearm does not protect against gunfire, nor does it ward off evil spirits.

Some time ago, an airline mechanic in Houston, Texas heard a "bump in the night". The noise was made by someone who was meddling with the mechanic's trailer.

While a guest called 911, the resident armed himself with a shotgun and went outside.

He was stabbed, disarmed, and shot with his own firearm.

He survived, but he lost an arm and was unable to work afterwards.
 
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