Gun under your pillow?

[9mmfan]

I have been told that when my uncle, a retired Federal Fireman from the Ft. Hood, Lake Belton area, was on duty, my aunt kept a .357 under her pillow. This, for every one of the reasons pointed out previously, seemed incredibly WRONG to me. That coupled with what my Old Lady refers to as my "extreme" sleeping style, means I keep the guns in the top drawer of the nightstand. Used to just be two, the Beretta, and the carry SP-101, now joined by the Tomcat Inox. Discovered several years ago exactly how quickly the blankets are discarded, the drawer is opened and the little friend, at the time a Taurus PT111 Mil. Pro. could be scooped up and deployed. Fortunately, it was just the shower curtain/rod crashing into the tub and reverberating round the bathroom. Got to say no when my boss, upon telling the tale, asked "did you shoot it?" Sorry for the digression, complete agreement with the entire "where is my hand, where is the gun?" "Which way am I facing, am I about to kill My Beloved by accident?" As well as the most likely, "Crud! My gun has fallen twixt the mattress and the headboard! Please hold that thought until I locate my weapon, then we can engage as would civilized men." I will admit, when I was sleeping alone, one or two times when I heard something, grabbed the Beretta outta the nightstand, laid it next to me in the bed, didn't hear anything else, and then fell back asleep, finding the gun under the covers the next day. So to clear everything up, nah, wouldn't keep a gun under the pillow. Rigging up some kinda holster 'tween the mattress and the headboard had occurred to me, but the Occam's Razor of the nightstand drawer won over every time.

[Ageofease08]

no way. bed side table is just fine with me.

[Jungle Work]

I've worked two accidental, self inflicted gun shot wound cases where folks slept with a pistol under their pillow and got tangled up with it during the night and it discharged striking them. Silly is as silly does.

Jungle Work

[threoh8]

I've worked two accidental, self inflicted gun shot wound cases where folks slept with a pistol under their pillow and got tangled up with it during the night and it discharged striking them. Silly is as silly does.

Ever work any where people were just putting a pistol in a holster and shot themselves? I suspect that's a lot more common.

I don't keep a pistol under the pillow, but I'm not ready to condemn the practice entirely. We all have different situations.

Family lore tells of two brothers (who rode with Quantrill in Kansas and Missouri and had occasional problems for decades after because of that) keeping loaded pistols under their pillows for the rest of their long lives. They moved around a lot, slept outdoors often, and felt the need to have weapons handy at all times. Under the pillow was the one place they knew to feel for a pistol wherever they were. That's what worked for them.

[03Lightningrocks]

TAM wrote:

I prefer my wife warm and ambulatory to cold and stiff.

Wanta' share your technique?

[03Lightningrocks]

No way or reason would I ever do this. That just seems like an accident begging to happen! The answer to a bad guy getting your gun off the night stand is to put it behind the alarm clock or lamp or book. I haven't read the whole thread so someone may have mentioned this already but Crossbread Supertuck makes a cool holder for just this situation. I have no idea if it works well or not.

http://www.crossbreedholsters.com/Holst ... roductName" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[cheezit]

Im also out on the idea of a gun in my bed with me. for all the reasons stated in the thread so far. I have pulled stuff off the dresser in the middle of the night before and found the items in the bed with me.
solution is empty chamber is a drawer were in the same spot it has been kept for 15 years or so. solution number 2 is 3 dogs, none that normally bark when in the house unless they here something. all 3 stay in the room with me and the wife, if one barks it's on.

[The Annoyed Man]

I prefer my wife warm and ambulatory to cold and stiff.

Wanta' share your technique?

Buncha guttersnipes!

[TexasGal]

I have the 642 with Crimson Trace grips under my pillow all the time.

My thoughts about placing a gun on the nightstand............
I am a heavy sleeper and I do not want the BG to walk into my bedroom and shoot me with my own nightstand gun before I wake up!

I have the same set up and sleep with it under my pillow for the same reason. I know a lady who woke to find the BG standing over her in her bedroom with her own gun. So much for keeping it handy in the nightstand. We imagine we will hear a noise, wake up, get our gun, etc.; but when in deep REM sleep, we simply do not hear any but the loudest noises. I don't have to learn the hard way myself.

It is always under my pillow and the things most have commented on simply don't happen. It is in an oversize Uncle Mikes soft holster. It stays in it without problems and yet the holster has enough "nap" to it to stay in place when I draw the gun. I tried other methods and found it took longer to reach my gun. Besides, if I awoke to someone actually putting hands on me, I do not have the option to get up out of bed and reach for a gun in my nightstand or anywhere else.

This is a revolver with a fairly heavy trigger pull. I would never put a loaded gun capable of firing under my pillow without a holster and I would not put a semiauto with a light trigger there with one in the chamber and no safety even with a holster.
It is not pointed at the other person in the bed, but at the wall at the head of the bed and is on the side closest to the side of the bed. It is not pointed at my head. If your pillow does not cover your gun, get a bigger pillow. Mine is a queen and works just fine. Now having said that, to each his own, but you could try this rig unloaded for a few weeks to make up your own mind how you feel about the way it works for your particular situation.

[AustinBoy]

I am really kinda surprised more people dont keep their guns locked up.

Since I was 10 I have always had a gun under my bed.

As I got older, more and more kids visited our house.

I now keep mine in a "pop box" under the bed.

http://www.gunvault.com/handgun-safes/m ... eluxe.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is right there. I can open it half asleep but not fully asleep. Kids cant get to it.

I keep the manual key hidden right next to it. Wife refuses to learn the key press code but she knows where the key is.

I have to admit, it does make me a little uneasy that I cant grab and go but with kids in house I just cant risk it.

Ty

[eddieconcarne]

As I got older, more and more kids visited our house.

I now keep mine in a "pop box" under the bed.

http://www.gunvault.com/handgun-safes/m ... eluxe.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I was just about to start a new thread asking for folks' opinion of these pop-open mini safes, but since you just brought it up and I started this thread, I might as well ask here: Who uses these and how do you like them? Do they beep? (my kid is more likely to play with it if each button press makes a sound). Are they reliable? Thanks!

[Hoi Polloi]

(my kid is more likely to play with it if each button press makes a sound).

Spoken like a true parent!

[wninja]

I sleep with a pillow under my gun.

Joking aside, I lived in "luxury" apartment a year ago and it started to go downhill. Break-ins were the norm, until one night I heard what sounded like gunshots. You can always guess or assume what it could have been, but there is no mistaking that sound of tires squealing afterwards, you know it was a drive-by. Anyway, as the apartment management always does, they sent out flyers informing the residents of the crime that recently occurred. I was used to getting them about once a month. About 2 months before I moved out, I started sleeping with my PX4 on the right side of my bed next to my pillow. I use my phone as an alarm so that stays on the left side. I don't have a nightstand (single guy, nothing else in the bedroom cept a mattress on the floor).

That was the only time in my life where I felt unsafe enough to sleep with a loaded weapon within finger's reach.

[Running Arrow Bill]

When my wife is on a business trip, I keep my Baretta .40 de-cocked & locked in DeSantis holster in bed within easy reach. Otherwise, it is same but within 1 ft of my hand. No chance of an AD. Since am not a "restless sleeper" that flops around all night, I'm aware when and where I re-position myself...

Wife has her .38/.357 by her too in a holster...

Way our house is set up (Classified), an intruder would make noise before he/she/it got to our bedroom door.

[Our pet Anaconda patrolls our house at night...JUST KIDDING!!...I hate snakes!]

[Texas Size 11]

As I got older, more and more kids visited our house.

I now keep mine in a "pop box" under the bed.

http://www.gunvault.com/handgun-safes/m ... eluxe.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I was just about to start a new thread asking for folks' opinion of these pop-open mini safes, but since you just brought it up and I started this thread, I might as well ask here: Who uses these and how do you like them? Do they beep? (my kid is more likely to play with it if each button press makes a sound). Are they reliable? Thanks!

I have one because like some of the others, I have three kids that seem to find their way into my bedroom. I can open it with my eyes closed, half asleep or whatever the case may be. It has opened every time I have tested it and I make it a habit to open it at least once a day, so I would say it is pretty reliable. It is easy to open. I am a fan.