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Met a woman tonight who told me she sleeps with her 1911 under her pillow. It's her belief that even the nightstand is too far away. Her husband runs a business that has a lot of cash and/or valuable inventory in the house, and he's away on business often, so I didn't really question her thinking one bit.

But it did get me thinking: how many of you literally sleep with your gun under your pillow?

For me personally, it seems impractical, as I turn over often, flip pillows in my sleep without thinking about it, often have one arm tucked under a pillow, and just in general move around too much in my sleep to be sure the gun was still in place if I needed it. I'm also just a little paranoid to have my head resting on the gun. Not that I think it will AD, but hey, why tempt fate? But that said, I have to believe that plenty of people follow this woman's lead and keep it under their pillow.

Curious if anyone here does this, and if they would share the reasons why. Likewise, I'm curious if anyone thinks this is just a really bad idea.

I personally wouldn't do it for a bunch of reasons that just came to the top of my head:
- I can't rely on knowing exactly where it is in orientation to myself in an emergency.
- I sleep on my stomach, so my hands / arms are often under the pillow. I've never sleepwalked, but grabbing something made to fit in your hand seems rather easy to do while not fully conscious and aware.
- For it to be accessible to my right hand, it would be pointing at my wife.
- If my wife needed it, she'd have to move me to access it.
- My kids like to wake me up by jumping up in the bed.
- Too easy to drop it down the headboard. . . where it would do me no good.
- Is it holstered? If not, I don't like having an uncovered trigger around movement.
- I don't want my wife to be afraid of visiting my side of the bed, or vice versa.

I have considered rigging a holster that would hold a gun securely in place between the mattress and the headboard, so proximity to me while I sleep isn't the concern.

I consider it when I hear strange noises at night, but I do not do it.

Not here either.

Seems like a bad idea. Too much can go wrong. I have a .45 on the nightstand, and I can grab it as quickly as I could under the pillow. Plus, it is always going to be in the same place, each and every time. For reasons others have stated, placing it under the pillow is not likely to guarantee that.

Plus, I have no desire to accidentally kill my wife. I would suggest to your friend that she does more to compromise her safety by placing it under her pillow than she gains by having an easily available firearm.

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!

AEA wrote: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 come home at the end of the day and unholstered my 1911, only to find that somewhere along the day's journey, the thumb safety got switched off. Who knows why? Maybe I bumped into something, or the edge of the car seat got as I was exiting the car (I'm left handed). Doesn't matter so much why. What matters is that it was off. That's not really a problem as long as the gun remains in its holster, so I don't worry about it. But what if it happened under my pillow, while I was wrestling with a sleep monster? Once your hand goes around that grip - even in your sleep - you're a very light trigger pull away from a terrible outcome with a 1911.

I prefer my wife warm and ambulatory to cold and stiff. BTW, I am a heavy sleeper, but she is not; and she sleeps with a Glock 19 on her nightstand. Then there's the small matter of a half-pitbull sleeping at the foot of the bed. I suppose that someone could still sneak in, pick up my gun, and shoot me with it, but it's a chance I'm willing to take against the possibility of accidentally wounding myself, or killing my wife.

BTW, if you do unintentionally fire your weapon in your sleep, is that an accidental, or a negligent discharge. I'm not saying I'm right and you're wrong, but that one is a gray area. From my perspective, with my gun, I would say it was negligent. From your perspective, with your gun, you would probably call it accidental. Just another thought to twist your noodle....

TAM wrote:

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

Wanta' share your technique?

eddieconcarne wrote: I turn over often, flip pillows in my sleep without thinking about it, often have one arm tucked under a pillow, and just in general move around too much in my sleep to be sure the gun was still in place if I needed it.

Sounds like me. The gun would probably end up at my feet by morning.

I keep it on the nightstand in the same place all the time.
I can literally reach over in the dark and grab it every time.

BTW, I keep a flashlight with the gun.

Oldgringo wrote:

TAM wrote:

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

Wanta' share your technique?

That's easy. Don't accidentally shoot her.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

Oldgringo wrote:

TAM wrote:

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

Wanta' share your technique?

That's easy. Don't accidentally shoot her.

but sometimes it's hard to tell the unshot ones from them that's been shot already


surv

mr surveyor wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:

Oldgringo wrote:

TAM wrote:

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

Wanta' share your technique?

That's easy. Don't accidentally shoot her.

but sometimes it's hard to tell the unshot ones from them that's been shot already


surv

Careful guys, you are treading on thin ice.

I have usually found jewelry to work well. If you are one of the lucky ones, buying her a new gun also keeps them happy.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

AEA wrote: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 come home at the end of the day and unholstered my 1911, only to find that somewhere along the day's journey, the thumb safety got switched off. Who knows why? Maybe I bumped into something, or the edge of the car seat got as I was exiting the car (I'm left handed). Doesn't matter so much why. What matters is that it was off. That's not really a problem as long as the gun remains in its holster, so I don't worry about it. But what if it happened under my pillow, while I was wrestling with a sleep monster? Once your hand goes around that grip - even in your sleep - you're a very light trigger pull away from a terrible outcome with a 1911.

I agree that it is not a good idea to have a 1911 under your pillow. That is why I have the 642 there and a 1911 inside the nightstand.

Just for grins and giggles I tried it with my 1911, unloaded. Bumped my hand on it several times as I flipped and flopped, which woke me up. Knocked the safety off, don't know when, or how long it stayed off. The pressure of the pillow was enough to turn on the LaserGrip, which was disconcerting enough in terms of running the battery down, but I also sleep with my eyes partially open, and the red glow coming through the edge of the pillow was very disturbing (think dreams of fire.)

And most of all, my wife doesn't like the gun oil on the linens.

The nightstand will do.

For some reason my actual comment about the thread didn't make the last post.

I have tried this and I personally toss and turn way to much. What I have done before is put my small revolver between the mattress and box springs where it is easily obtainable. This was before I had kids. After that I moved to quick-access lock box under the edge of the bed.