What's the best way to hide a HDG in plain sight?

[psyopspec]

I live in an apartment, and with the small spaces involved use a 1911 for my home defense gun. I also happen to be a fairly sound sleeper, so I keep it on the nightstand but cover it up with a folded towel - this is so that in the worst case scenario that an intruder makes it into my room and I haven't noticed yet, they won't be able to grab for the pistol.

I'm wondering, for those of you that keep a rifle or shotgun as your primary home defense weapon, how do you store it for quick access at night, and do you take any extra steps to ensure no one would be able to enter your room and make a grab? If you don't do the latter, try to imagine yourself in a situation where you're sick or for some other reason won't easily stir from sleep. What do you do to "hide" your HDG in plain sight?

 

[Classified00]

Well...

I use one of those evil "shoot me first" waist packs. It sits on my nightstand. I keep the zipper completely unzipped and my Glock 19 and a spare mag sitting inside (but not actually in the holster and mag holder). To access the gun, simply flip open the front of the pack and pick up the gun.

At first glance most people wouldn't immediately identify it as a gun container. I've had a few "freinds" in my bedroom and none of them thought twice about the set up. (FYI... I have no children and live alone)

 

[GrayBear]

HIDDEN HOLSTER?

Two friends have hidden their bedside guns neatly. One tacked a holster at a convient angle behind his nightstand, out of sight, very reachable. The other hollowed out a bedside book.

GrayBear

 

[Parallax]

I keep my shotgun leaning on the wall next to my bed when I'm sleeping. There are two doors you must go through to get inside my bedroom and I put alarms on both of them, I arm the alarms before I go to sleep. There is another one on the window to my room. I also have 2 dogs, one usually sleeps in my room and she flips out if anyone comes near my house. I'm also not a very sound sleeper, just about anything wakes me up and I usually wake up a few times through the night for no reason.

 

[Ringer]

What do you do to "hide" your HDG in plain sight?

On the wall next to my side of the bed behind curtain seems to work pretty good for me. The lockbox prevents unauthorized access, IMO sufficeint for my situation and the curtain provides the cover. It gets unlocked every night and locked up every morning when I go to work. As long as the BG catching me by surprise doesn't view THR and recognize the curtains from the pic I have posted I should be OK.

 

[proven]

i live in a similair situation...small apartment, and also use my 1911 as primary defense. if someone crashed through either of the entry points to my place, i'd grab my 1911 and rise from bed to get the shotgun from my bedroom closet. my bedside stand has a drawer that my 1911 fits into quite nicely. i have no children, live alone, and there isn't a concern about locking it up, as it leaves the apt. every time i do.

brian

 

[thorazine]

What do you do to "hide" your HDG in plain sight?

HD pistol (SIG P220ST) sitting on my nightstand in my bedroom hiden ever so slightly under a pair of old worn out looking boxers. Friends have come over and no one would even dare mess it with. You can use brown shoe polish on the underwear to give it more of a authentic 'don't even dare touch me' type of appearance.

 

[dav]

and, if you can believe this, thorazine's method is available for purchase!

hide

 

[Mr. Clark]

^^^

 

[ChopperKen]

The 1911 stays under the pillow, gives me a warm fuzzy feeling
I live in a mobile home out in the sticks. Safe enough area w/ good neighbors.
Door never gets locked
The dog would wake me if he dosn't know who's walking in.
Yes, I have a neighbor or 2 that just come on in.
and in the mornings he puts on coffee before he calls out and wakes me.
Ken

 

[SkyDaver]

I just keep mine in the carry belt pack, but I've seen a holster for under a drawer or table.

There's a gadget out there (don't know if it's still made) that had a dowel that went down the barrel, and had something that held the grip up against the bottom of the table.

Crude ASCII graphic attempt:

------------------------------------------- < thats the table top
||========= < a smidgik to hold a dowel offset from
the table top. Put the barrel over the
dowel. Rig some velcro to hold the grip
up out of the way.


Do this under your nightstand drawer?

 

[psyopspec]

skydaver

Good idea, and something that could easily be fashioned at home...

Might have to replace the towel and pull out my 4-H wood working skills on a free weekend!

 

[bubbygator]

On my side of the bed, instead of a nightstand, I have a small 24" round 3-legged table (buy at any Crafts store) with a pretty flowered table-cover over it that hangs all the way down to the floor. But under that cover is my Gunvault; works just as nice as the "behind the curtains" solution, but is safe from grandkids prying. My wife picked out the bedroom decoration.... I made it useful.

 

[MrFreeze]

Dang...I didn't think there would be so many people that hid their pistols underneath a pair of underwear!

If the BG gets a jump on me or I can't otherwise access my pistol, I'm going to ask if I can at least die in dignity with my underwear on...then BANG!

PS: I really like that pic above, with the shotty behind the curtain...I might have to go that route.

 

[geekWithA.45]

Something to consider....

Back in the 70's, my uncle kept his 1911 in his bedstand, condition two.

A home invader, which turned out to be a no good junkie associate of his son snuck in stuff to steal stuff. No one woke up until the scum shot my aunt with his bedstand gun, (winged her, no permanent damage, thank god) and which time my uncle, a WWII veteran rocketed out of bed and beat the bejesus out of him.

Don't count too much on being a light sleeper.

 

[duckslayer]

Is it is a viable option for you, a dog that would bark if someone were to enter would be a good idea. Then the BG wouldn't get the jump on you. I have one dog that will lick any BG to death, while the other will bark her head off. For HD, I wouldn't recommend the licker!

 

[MrFreeze]

Duckslayer,

I've got a beagle that does a bit of HD as well. Although he's not as deadly as I'd like, he definitely keeps his ears open, even when he's laying under the sheets next to my feet

Here's a shot of him in action:

Morpheus

Travis

 

[duckslayer]

I like beagles, but they get pretty cold in the water retrieving ducks! He should make enough of a ruckus if someone comes in to alert you.

 

[MrFreeze]

I'm afraid that if I took him out, he'd swim away and never come back, though! Looks like this year I'll be wading out in the water myself to get the ducks

Lest I get too far away from the topic, I wanted to throw something else out that I thought of the other day...many beds have a wooden box frame to which a shotgun/rifle/whatever mount could easily be set up...then all you have to do to cover it is using one of those frilly-type deals that go between the mattress and the box spring...they normally hang down over the entire box spring and reach the floor. You could even just screw in some cheap, rubber j-hooks into the wood and set the shotty or rifle right down. I'm not sure exactly how it might work, since you very well could kick the j-hooks or the gun with your shins if it stuck too far out, but it might be something to experiment with.

Travis

 

[Texian Pistolero]

I sleep on the floor on a twin mattress, with my G19 on my left side (location confirmed by touch at bedtime for Bonzo), and a Ruger Police Service Six .357 wheelgun on my right (location confirmed by touch at bedtime for Bonzo.)

Half the time, I have a Remington 870 with hammer down on empty chamber, four founds of Federal nine pellet 00 buck in chamber, ready to stroke and shoot.

If intel is BAD (rarely), I have Bushy or Romanian AK with thirty round mag ready to rock and roll.

I don't like to do a lot, because in the morning I have to break down whatever security I've set up, and I'm not a morning person.

I agree that a cute canine is the BEST alarm, but be honest about when Fido is starting to lose it (about ten years old), and be prompt in breaking in a backup.

During awake night hours, I have the G19 covered by an open magazine (in plain sight, both sets of pages Scotch taped for fast positive removal of magazine. (Hint: use Good Housekeeping, not Soldier of Fortune.)

 

[psyopspec]

I wanted to throw something else out that I thought of the other day...many beds have a wooden box frame to which a shotgun/rifle/whatever mount could easily be set up...then all you have to do to cover it is using one of those frilly-type deals that go between the mattress and the box spring...they normally hang down over the entire box spring and reach the floor.

Interesting setup. Even though I use a 1911, I do have an AR that could be mounted that way. This weekend is deer opener, but before christmas I'll see if I get a free weekend. Watch for a new post and pics in the next couple weeks-half the fun would be showing it off to the THR comrades.

 

[Ghost_Point]

buy a larg space looking toy gun and put the gun inside it enough to look like a toy. You can also find all kind of stuff that a gun will fit into and function just be sure to leave room for the trigger and if it its a automatic make sure it will move with slide and cut out enough to eject shells. And don't forget crack heads are good at finding things no matter how good you hide them. If your dog is good at coming when you call maybe put a small gun on the dog. get a glock and put it in a loaf of bread in the cooler.
I got a shoulder holster on a clothes hook between some shirts not jackets cause they might get gone through by the enemy. A hammerless revolver inside a pillow. If you own the place you can cut a hole in the wall and make a shelf coverd by posters or tapestries. Make a cheap alarm clock radio that is realy a box for next to the bed. I seen a fake cell phone that shoots .25acps but never used one. Hollow out a stuffed animal. you can put a glock into the basin part of a toilet. Bait a dummy gun with explosives just kidding. Whatever you do make sure the firearm will operate properly and leave room for moving parts and ejecting the shells.

 

[olyAR73]

Small lock-box under the bed holds the G20. Havent got around to figuring a way to bolt it down but I have it locked up with a heavy pad-lock to keep the kids out of it. I keep a G19 stashed in another part of the house out of sight and out of reach of the kids also.

 

[gigmike]

I was in a gun store earlier this year and while they were doing my background check I noticed a "little old lady" standing by me holding a kleenex box. I didn't think much of it until a salesman asked if he could help her, she reached into this pink box and pulled out a revolver from under the tissues. I laughed but had to congratulate her as her idea was pure genius. During hayfever season it could be fatal, but still a great idea.`

 

[Sean85746]

King Size Bed

I built the frame for my king size bed. The sides are 2x12, so as you might imagine, they are quite deep.

I screwed a "yaqui slide" style holster I made (I make custome leather holsters) to the outside of the frame, and my Glock 17L with a 33 rnd Sherer mag and a tactical light slide into it nice and easy.

You can't see the gun from any angle, and my wife has a similar set up on her side of the bed for her Glock 19.

The first 3 rounds in each gun are Glaser Safety Slugs...and the rest are CorBon +P+ 124gr jhps. I figure if the Glasers don't penetrate enough....the CorBons will!

We also have a LARGE WOOF WOOF rottweiler that barks at any noise that is not familiar to her.

In this day of home invasions being in vogue...I always have my daily carry gun (Glock 23) near to hand.

We have a 7 month old daughter...and we haven't armed her yet...lol.

When she begins to get mobile, I will re-evaluate our bed time storage methods. As it is, during the day, I put the nite nite guns in the safe.

Hope this gives some ideas.