[boogybren]

Currently, I am waiting to participate in my CCW class coming up here in June. So as of right now, I don't open carry and my gun stays locked up unless I am taking it out for practice. I would like to have my gun available for quick use should I need it at night but am unsure of a proper and responsible way of storing it.

I don't have any children right now so I have thought about just keeping it with a full magazine, chamber empty, in my nightstand. What do you folks do? Can you recommend responsible practice with regards to what I am trying to accomplish?

Thanks in advance for your responses!

 

[glock fan]

It might be a better idea to keep it "locked and loaded". Be sure to secure your firearm before leaving your home.

gf

 

[Shaolin]

That's a good idea, but I think you are allowed to keep it fully loaded in your house. I keep mine fully loaded by the bed. Also get a good flashlight to help out, seeking the BG. Get some training on the proper use of the flashlight though.

 

[GeneticsDave]

You are the King of your Castle. You can keep a fully loaded firearm (shotgun, rifle, pistol or revolver) in your home without any permission from the State. You do need permission, however, if you take that fully loaded firearm out and about. If I had it inside, I would keep it ready to go. If someone breaks into your house, you don't want to have to try and remember what to do to load your gun, you want to just "point and shoot".

Good luck and thanks for posting!

 

[mcmeister]

Welcome my brother from another mother (very literally I might add)! I read a post awhile back that says they leave it unlocked and readily available while in the house and lock it when they leave, perhaps in a safe, but with door open when at home. Best of both worlds. You might want to keep it high in case little inquisitive ones come by like my little brats now and then.

 

[GeneticsDave]

If you have children (which you said you don't) or if you occasionally have children in the home, or just want to secure your firearm, I would recommend getting a GunVault, they are fast to open and can be bolted down. And, they are fairly inexpensive ~$100 as opposed to that massive gun safe you will most likely end up having in a few years when your gun collection expands past the point of all reason :lol:

 

[boogybren]

Thanks for all your thoughts! I think for now I will put it on my nightstand, locked and loaded just before I go to bed. Then just lock it up first thing in the morning. When I start having children and they are in the house at night, I will need to revisit my strategy.

 

[UTOC-45-44]

Currently, I am waiting to participate in my CCW class coming up here in June. So as of right now, I don't open carry and my gun stays locked up unless I am taking it out for practice. I would like to have my gun available for quick use should I need it at night but am unsure of a proper and responsible way of storing it.

I don't have any children right now so I have thought about just keeping it with a full magazine, chamber empty, in my nightstand. What do you folks do? Can you recommend responsible practice with regards to what I am trying to accomplish?

Thanks in advance for your responses!

I use a Uncle Mike's IWB ( get the one with a thumb break), that I put my gun and place it under the pillow.I got it at Sportsman's. I found this to be an awesome holster since it is very "anti-slip" and won't move as I move my arms or pillow around during the night. Best $11.99 I ever spend on a "bed holster".

http://images.google.com/images?hl=...&q=Uncle Mike's IWB&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Just my .40

TJ

 

[whiptrackercracker]

Might I suggest that with whatever you decide, you put it somewhere will it will take a dedicated action of thought to retrieve it. I.E inside a drawer or in a case with a turn key, a serpa retention,etc. Although it does not happen very often, once in a blue moon we dream about shooting. Ok...some of us more than others. The dedicated action prevents you from accidentally discharging your gun while your dreaming. Again...not something that happens often but there have been cases where people have picked the gun off the top of the nightstand and shot a hole through the wall. All of these people also thought they were not sleep walkers. Anywho, its ultimately your choice, just my 3 cent word of warning. I keep mine charged and ready to eat inside a night stand drawer. It sits angled about 30 degrees up from a serpa holster. In some places I have it sticking angled from the side of the bed. When company comes over, I am usually wearing it, however, I lock it in a vault if I am not. The locked and loaded fashion is sometimes useful if your residence is set up so that you have little time between when an intruder gets into the perimeter and when you will be facing him. It buys you stealth too because you don't make any noise to cock the gun. My rule of thumb is that the more perimeters and securtiy feats the intruder must face, the more lax I can be with the condition of the gun. But, please always keep it safe if people or kids could possibly in any type of situation have close access to the area you store your gun.

 

[glock fan]

:agree: +1 on keeping the loaded handgun in some type of holster. I keep my handgun holstered with the tactical light attached. Keep in mind that the BG will attack on their schedule, which in a lot of cases is around 3am or when you're asleep. You may have to move around the house with your fireram. Being already holstered would make moving around the house safer and make it less likely for a ND to occur.

Keep in mind that if you have a firearm(s) that you use for "home protection", then they should be locked and loaded. The "unloaded and secured seperate from ammunition" applies to firearms that are not "in use". This would apply to my :fudd: hunting rifle, shotgun etc. as I'm not "hunting" in my home. It would be really nice to know when the BG were coming, but since we don't, then we need to keep our home protection firearms ready at all times, therefore as long as I'm home, then the home protection firearms are "in use". Can you imagine a BG breaking in at 2am and you tell the BG "Hold on, I've got to get my handgun out of the safe, get the ammunition, load my magazines..... :wink:

gf

 

[Magnum Mikie]

:agree: Can you imagine a BG breaking in at 2am and you tell the BG "Hold on, I've got to get my handgun out of the safe, get the ammunition, load my magazines..... :wink:

gf

It must be very humbling when the BG hears the noise of a "pump" action shotgun like the Rem 870. I've heard that the noise of "racking a round" can frighten the BG so much that they simply run from the house.

 

[whiptrackercracker]

Yeah utimately a shotgun is your best indoor option in my opinion. But, I live where that is not neccessarily possible. But, the sound of clock click usually is enough to cause even the most seasoned burgular to wet his pants!!!

 

[glock fan]

I caution folks in thinking that simply "racking" a shotgun will scare off a burglar. There's a difference in the sound of racking an empty shotgun and actually chambering a shot shell. I notice the difference in the "chuk-chuk" vs. "chuk-choonk" when a shot shell is chambered. My thinking is that if I can tell the difference, then a seasoned BG would be able to tell as well.

Be careful when using a firearm for home defense.

gf

 

[Outsider]

I just got my Springfield XD and now I just put it on the second shelf of my nightstand (no drawer on my stand). I keep it in its holster but it is right where I can grab it and I have a flashlight on top of the night stand with a knife right next to that. I had the flashlight and knife there since getting married, now just adding the gun to the picture.

 

[GeneticsDave]

If you are going to use a shotgun for self-defense, keep it in the same condition you would your handgun. Pumping the shotgun is not tactically sound. It gives away your position, tells the assailant what weapon you have and it takes forethought to do correctly. Just like taking time to rack your slide, you don't want to lose this time with a shotgun. Your life may depend on your ability to stay hidden or get the first shot off in a surprise attack.

 

[Ruger Collector]

It must be very humbling when the BG hears the noise of a "pump" action shotgun like the Rem 870.

I'm torn on which would be more menacing, the 870 pump action sound, the bolt release sound of an AR, or the laser dot on their chest...

:dunno:

 

[glock fan]

I just got my Springfield XD and now I just put it on the second shelf of my nightstand (no drawer on my stand). I keep it in its holster but it is right where I can grab it and I have a flashlight on top of the night stand with a knife right next to that. I had the flashlight and knife there since getting married, now just adding the gun to the picture.

Kinky..... :wink:

 

[rdoggsilva]

Just my Mossy 500 with #4 buck. This will not go through 4 walls. But does have the stopping power I need. :fudd:

 

[Dustin WJ]

I have thought about just keeping it with a full magazine, chamber empty, in my nightstand.

That's what I do.

 

[Jeff Johnson]

I caution folks in thinking that simply "racking" a shotgun will scare off a burglar. There's a difference in the sound of racking an empty shotgun and actually chambering a shot shell. I notice the difference in the "chuk-chuk" vs. "chuk-choonk" when a shot shell is chambered. My thinking is that if I can tell the difference, then a seasoned BG would be able to tell as well.
...

:agree: Never bluff with a weapon in a self-defense situation.

Anyone who has made the decision to carry for self-defense must realize the grave responsibility and the potential consequences that go hand in hand with that decision. That's why we should know the laws and be clear on when it is and is not appropriate to use a weapon. If someone decides to carry, but is not actually willing to shoot in self-defense when it is clearly necessary, intending perhaps to bluff with the gun, then that person can wind up in deep trouble. That's when such a person might wind up having their weapon taken away and used against him, like the anti-gunners insist will always happen.

To loosely paraphrase Yoda, "Shoot or shoot not. There is no bluff."