Sleeping with a gun under your pillow?

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(Note: there was also a very SERIOUS failure of security and preparedness on multiple levels if the bad guy made it clear to the edge of the bed with a machete. Just sayin'.)
 
I agree with the idea that most likely adrenaline would cause you to empty the mag. That's probably what I'd do.

To the original question, I've slept with a gun under my pillow before. I never felt that there was a risk of an accidental or negligent discharge doing it this way, but it wasn't as easy to reach it as I thought. I found that if I moved around in my sleep, the gun shifted and was never quite in the same place in the morning. Sometimes it moved as much as 8 or 10 inches. If you have to reach for it in the night while you're laying down, you have a limited reach if you lie on your back or on your side. If the gun has moved even half a pillow-length, you are less able to reach for it and can lose valuable time fishing for it.

Since then, I put it on the nightstand. I can reach that way with either hand and it never shifts. It's in the same place every time and it's instinctual to reach for it. Plus, I'm pretty sure there's no way some guy with a machete could get through my house to my bedroom without me being ready. At the very least, he'd trip over a bunch of junk in the dark! :neener:
 
Trent, your note sums up a lot of what I was thinking. My gun is loaded in its holster next to the bed. I flip flop around too much, I'd end up knocking it off the bed somewhere.

I'm a light sleeper, odds are I will not sleep through someone forcing his way into the house, past three dogs, and into my bedroom without waking up.
 
Seems dangerous to me. The night stand beside the bed works for me. I might would look at one of those holsters that mount to the side of the bed if I wanted it even closer.
 
I *used* to sleep with a Glock 21 under my pillow, unchambered for "safety". I did this for years, and years. Then I read a story about a man who shot his wife in the head on accident in his sleep, and went to prison. That man slept with a gun under his pillow, too.

It's an individual choice and I'm not going to fault someone for doing it, everyone has a right to do what they want. Just be aware there might be unexpected repercussions for every choice you make.

Thinking back to nightmare/dreams I had where I was pulling the trigger and couldn't shoot the bad guy (we had a thread on this recently here on THR), gave me the chills.. because it's QUITE possible while having those dreams, I was pulling the trigger of my Glock in my sleep. Without a round in the chamber, the trigger don't "work".

I agree about positioning, too. Tossing and turning I often found the gun on the floor between the headboard and wall.

Keeping it on the nightstand guarantees that when I reach for it, it's there, in the same place, every time. Handgun is close and convenient, but really only meant to get me those few steps to a much better option. :)

This is a great example of why one should pay more than just a tip of the hat to perimeter security, and put some actual serious thought in to it.
 
For me...extremely dangerous. I toss and turn. Sometimes my pillow ends up across the room, sometimes I do.

I keep a glock at bedside with a trigger guard kydex minimalist holster attached to the bed frame. Grab the gun with force and it comes loose. Even if I kept a holstered glock under my pillow, I stand a pretty fair chance of shooting my head or something else. No thank you.

But thanks for giving me a new nightmare: "he awoke to find someone standing by his bed holding a machete."
 
My grandmother used to tell a story about a man in her small town who was known to sleep with a revolver under his pillow. They found him one morning, apparently he had shot himself accidentally.

This was a long time ago in Mississippi, so I can't provide a link.

For a long time my shotgun resided on a ledge I built just under the side of the bed furthest from the door. It was always in the same spot, and was safe from stray fingers.

I'd never trust an upholstered handgun under a pillow.
 
G22 in Kydex holster, condition 1, in gun pouch of Maxpedition bag next to bed.

If the bad guy can get close enough to do me in, before I can grab the bag, he's got me.

That's gotta be some kind of dangerous place to sleep if you need gun closer than that.
Maybe people do that because their sleeping place is so insecure, that somebody might actually steal their gun while they are sleeping.

I sleep behind a locked door, and in my own home.
I grab the bag and I've got the concealment device, gun, extra mags, holster, flashlight, knife, flex-cuffs, and earplugs.
 
Reachable and secured to the back side of the headboard, with enough layers in place I will have plenty of time, thats all Im going to say.

I agree more than meets the eye here.
 
I will not have a defensive handgun with chamber empty. I do not know what I do when I sleep. Therefore I have a gun nearby, inside a box that requires conscious thought to get to.
 
Yeah, not for me anymore. I used to sleep with one under my pillow but then I got older and wiser. As has been said already, for something like this story to happen there has to be a MAJOR breakdown in the outter defenses. With 3 locks to get through, all windows locked up, and 2 dogs to go unalerted, it would take a miracle for someone to get that far without me getting to my within arms length bedside safe and have gun in hand aimed and ready. Plus the fact that the would be bad guy would have to avoid tripping over randomly placed blocks and other toys in the dark left by my 2 yr old. No bother in picking those up at night, adds to the defenses in my opinion :p.
 
I think that a gun under a pillow is a really, really bad idea, for reasons mentioned above, as well as access. If someone is in a situation (e.g. witness protection or something) where that level of preparedness is prudent, a much better solution is a 642 or 442 in an ankle holster. Also easier to get to if someone is on top of you trying to ruin your night; forget this pillow talk.
 
Makes you think! If the gun would have been in a night stand, would he of been able reach it in time? Sounds like having it under the pillow saved his life.
 
The suspect was transported to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center where he underwent surgery and remains hospitalized.
Click to expand...

What really angers me about all of this is, we the tax payers will have to pay for this fools (suspects) medical treatments. I wish the suspect had had the good manners to just die in the residence he was shot in....
 
I don't keep it under my pillow but next to my head the reason for this us I travel often so it's always in the same spot home or hotel.
It does depend on the firearm though I'd never do it with a glock, my lcp, etc. I use my 1911 cocked and locked or my blackhawk. When my dog is around(home) I dint have a round chambered in the 1911
 
I slept "In Country" with a loaded 1911A1 during an entire tour.
Never an issue.
That being said I think if someone was shot by a loaded revolver I would have to look at that very hard before I thought it was an "accident".
 
For many years I carried one or two sidearms at all times (it was my living and I was in south Florida during the height of the cocaine wars....). On or off duty, in church or anywhere else it was a rare waking moment that I didn't have a weapon on my person or within my ready reach... The only time I would never have a weapon within my reach was when sleeping. I always thought that was a very bad idea... No particular cases to cite or history of bad dreams - I just always thought that I wanted to be awake and alert before I reached for any weapon. I'm also a guy who never, repeat never hung a weapon or duty gear on a hook while in any restroom (and it was never on the floor either).

Those habits stood me in good shape during over twenty years in law enforcement after a tour in Vietnam. Since I retired from police work I've never once carried a sidearm or kept one where I can reach it. For the last sixteen years I've never regretted that decision.

By the way I was taught (and experience confirmed) that the one of the most dangerous things you could do as a cop on the street was to wake up anyone sleeping in public. I demanded that my officers always have a backup on scene before waking anyone. Once or twice it saved an officer's life. That became a standard for me after an FHP trooper with a Canadian officer on board as an observer were shot and killed after waking up the occupants of a vehicle they found down here in south Florida (I believe that was in 1974...).
 
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I don't sleep with one under the pillow, but it's in arms reach at all times.
I sleep on the couch most nights and thus I have a clear shot at anyone coming in any entry point not in a bedroom. A fly fart will wake me and there is a dog in every corner of the house, so it would be a bad choice for a bad guy. For those questioning the guy in the story and criticizing his choice, it worked for him. He is alive. Maybe he doesn't live like a commando, but his tactics worked.
 
This is not only uncomfortable but the pistol can move around as you change sleeping positions. It is faster just to keep it on the night stand where it never moves and is always turned the same way when time comes to grab it.
 
On our news just now. Guy has a 40 cal on his night stand. Rolls into the stand and tries to grab it. Bang, shoots the wife.

He didn't know it was loaded. :confused: We shall see.
 
I sleep with one withing reach, but not under the pillow. I have kids and a wife. Too many variables to an unsecured firearm there. Back when I was single, I slept with a 1911 under the pillow, but sometimes question the wisdom of doing it even then.
 
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