What’s Your Bedroom Gun?

Curious to hear what everyone keeps near their bed for protection. Do you go with a handgun, shotgun, or something else? Any recommendations for lights or safes?

We have no children to be concerned for. I keep a Glock 23 in condition 1 hung from a 2A4Life magnet in the walk-in closet. It wears a TLR1 light on the rail. Within arm's reach of that is my M1a Scout with a full magazine.

I am I pistol guy for HD, There is truth in "never trust a man with one gun, chances are they know how to use it".
I do want to point out I keep my CZ PCR in the decock condition in a holster. Every bench at the range I sometimes use has a hole from someone picking up their gun and the finger goes in the trigger guard hits the trigger, bang. Waken up in the middle of the night and picking up the gun in the dark sounds dangerous to me. I pick up a holster with a gun in it remove gun from holster and know where my fingers are where the gun is and I can do it all in the dark with out worrying about a AD.

I keep a Beretta 92FS with a Surefire X300 light in a quick-access safe by the bed. It is reliable and the light helps ID targets in the dark. Practice drawing from the safe to get smooth with it.

I keep a Glock 19 within reach for quick access, plus a bedside light for visibility. I use a small biometric safe for security, it is fast to open but keeps it out of reach from kids

Kids are all grown and on their own. Model 12 loaded with #4 Buck. In our home defense class we teach that nothing strikes fear to an intruder like racking a pump shotgun. I think boom then rack might be a bit scarier.

When you rack the gun you are signaling your location. The only sounds an intruder should hear are "CLICK!!! BOOM!!!"

Then again, the sound of a 12ga racking should be all that's needed unless the intruder is intent on killing you. Otherwise, it's get out of dodge time.

Why give an intruder the opportunity? I will always assume the worst if someone intrudes in my home in the night. How would you determine an intruder's intentions?

Lets think about this for a minute.
#1- If/when you shoot in a dark room your going to be blinded by the muzzle flash for a short period.
#2- The muzzle blast in a enclosed room will take out your hearing for awhile even if your the only one pulling the trigger.
#3- Are you sure of your target? Or did you just punch holes in your home? family in adjoining rooms?
#4- If indeed you did hit your target, how bad is he/she hit?
#5- Blood all over, What a mess to deal with.
#6- Or did you miss and encourage return fire??
It's fun to be macho until reality sets in.
But, if it's a life or death situation, try a take out the intruder, and try to explain your actions to the press, law enforcement and John Q Public. Be prepared for intense scrutiny for years to come.

specs said:

When you rack the gun you are signaling your location. The only sounds an intruder should hear are "CLICK!!! BOOM!!!"

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The gun is already locked and loaded with the safety on. The only warning an intruder will get is when they see a red dot somewhere on their body and possibly the click when the safety goes from safe to unsafe, then the chances are it will be too late for them.

There's a big grey area there. Armed/unarmed, possible mistaken home, family wandering around???
Don't get me wrong, we have plenty of firepower in various strategic positions around our home, and ready to use it if necessary.
My only point is, once you pull the trigger, there are no do-overs and you'll have to live with the consequences of that action the rest of your life, what ever they my be.

Toyboy said:

There's a big grey area there. Armed/unarmed, possible mistaken home, family wandering around???
Don't get me wrong, we have plenty of firepower in various strategic positions around our home, and ready to use it if necessary.
My only point is, once you pull the trigger, there are no do-overs and you'll have to live with the consequences of that action the rest of your life, what ever they my be.

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My home is secured with an alarm system. Anybody welcome to show up at all hours knows the alarm code. If the alarm goes off and someone is inside then they are up to no good and most likely a legal target. The legality of the target is somewhat up in the air since unless they have a weapon of some type may be hard to discern. If they see the red dot they can either say who they are, run or if I detect a weapon become a statistic. As for living with things for the rest of my life, I am a Vietnam vet, have put many people in the ground and don't lose any sleep over it. Chances of loosing sleep over an intruder are slim and none, mostly none. I also spent 30 years in the Army, was a firearms instructor for 25 of those years and it's very seldom that I miss any target I shoot at.

Guilt trips don't work on me, I am well aware of what I am doing at all times. One of the rules of gun safety is, "Be sure of your target and beyond." I don't plan on putting any holes in any of my walls, and if shooting at me I am also well aware of what or who is in the room behind me, in most cases nobody would be in the way. So Toyboy, I have my bases covered, do you?

I don't have the alarm system like you but I do have other measures. There is no good way to answer this other then to each his own. What I decide and what you decide may be different but not necessarily wrong.
I've made it clear on my thoughts and so have you on yours. Lets hope neither of us have a situation that requires following through on them.
Have a good day

So far I have never had to shoot at someone since leaving the war zones. I do not live in a high crime area and tend to stay away from high crime areas during my travels. Kind of why I stay out of Illinois, especially the Chicago area.

Tabby said:

So far I have never had to shoot at someone since leaving the war zones. I do not live in a high crime area and tend to stay away from high crime areas during my travels. Kind of why I stay out of Illinois, especially the Chicago area.

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I have learned to give Chicago a wide birth... I'll gladly go the long way around the area.

Getting around Chicago is a necessary evil depending on where you are going. I have found that the quickest and fastest way to get through the disaster area is to head south out of Milwaukee on I94, get off and follow Hwy 41 to the Chicago Skyway, at 2:00 AM.

Tabby said:

Getting around Chicago is a necessary evil depending on where you are going. I have found that the quickest and fastest way to get through the disaster area is to head south out of Milwaukee on I94, get off and follow Hwy 41 to the Chicago Skyway, at 2:00 AM.

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In the last two-three years or so I have found 39 to 80 to be the least hectic for my nerves.. 80 has had a section under construction like almost every highway through or around Chicago but at least the route wasn't jammed with traffic playing dodge'em at 90mph. I know how to play the game as I lived in NW Indiana and worked in S. Chicago for 18 years but with all the highway expansion the traffic has doubled since then. ... 2am ... That may be the key to your plan. Coming out to the Midwest from NH to visit the kids I'd leave at 4~5 am to avoid most of the Boston rush.

Toyboy said:

Lets think about this for a minute.
#1- If/when you shoot in a dark room your going to be blinded by the muzzle flash for a short period.
#2- The muzzle blast in a enclosed room will take out your hearing for awhile even if your the only one pulling the trigger.
#3- Are you sure of your target? Or did you just punch holes in your home? family in adjoining rooms?
#4- If indeed you did hit your target, how bad is he/she hit?
#5- Blood all over, What a mess to deal with.
#6- Or did you miss and encourage return fire??
It's fun to be macho until reality sets in.
But, if it's a life or death situation, try a take out the intruder, and try to explain your actions to the press, law enforcement and John Q Public. Be prepared for intense scrutiny for years to come.

Click to expand...

Toyboy, While you are thinking about this for a minute your intruder has spotted you with what appears to be a gun in your hand. While you are pondering this, he (or she) does a double tap through your good silk pajamas thus ending your worry about anything anymore. As for muzzle flash, make the shot count and you won't need another. Muzzle blast is only temporary. If the target is in my home I know it better than they do, so the chance of them taking a shot with collateral damage is much more realistic than me, knowing where everyone is, If I did hit my target, hopefully before they got a shot off, chances are that if they aren't dead or bleeding out they are beating a hasty retreat. Blood can be cleaned up, walls sealed and repainted, it's not an issue unless the blood is yours. The chances of missing are slim and none, but if the intruder does return fire he/she is also blinded by my muzzle flash, they will be out in the open in a place that they are unfamiliar with. I will not be standing out in the open, I will be shooting from cover. Burglars that carry firearms think that they are the the big person on the block, once they figure out that the owner of the place is also armed most will turn tail and run, most likely crapping in their pants as they go since they don't want to get shot or killed either. As for law enforcement, as you are calling 911 take a picture of the burglar laying on the floor bleeding out making sure you get their weapon along with them in the photo for evidence. John Q public will be cheering you for taking out a lowlife criminal, the media will have a story for a day or two and then forget who you are. Law enforcement, when they arrive, never in time to protect you will do their due diligence and you will have already called your USCCA attorney. There is no scrutiny for years to come, probably not even weeks to come unless you are dealing with crooked politics.

Now Toyboy, a question for you. Since you seem to be presenting such an opposing viewpoint, showing support for the criminal I have to ask. Are you a criminal and/or burgler? Sure sounds like it to me.

I hate driving in the Chicago area. You can be driving 100 MPH and there are cars passing you that come out of nowhere. And I watch my mirrors. To make matters worse there are people driving 50 MPH so you have to switch lanes.

If you close 1 eye when you shoot , you should maintain your night vision. I know you should shoot both eyes open,but there are exceptions.

If you have the target in sight, a quick eye closure when you shoot will help. The target picture will not change in the split second of eye closure. (here come the flames)

I have done a lot of shooting in the dark, on both indoor and outdoor ranges. I have never found that the momentary flash has hindered night vision. I also shoot with one eye unless shooting combat where you have to be aware of what is going on around you. In closed quarters at extremely close range you have no need to worry about anything but the criminal in front of you. I also train to shoot from either hand with either eye. If shooting a revolver there is the side blast between the cylinder and barrel that is more disruptive than the short flame going straight away from a semi auto. If you get a chance try shooting on a range that will allow it after sunset as darkness closes in or on an indoor range with the lights dimmed almost to nothing. In the Army we were required to qualify during night fire. It was interesting to see the different levels of night vision some people had.

A shotgun in dark closed quarters will present a blinding flash, a semiauto pistol not so much.

For those of you out there that load your own ammo. To protect yourself always keep your bedroom gun loaded with factory ammo. If you have to use said weapon it will be beneficial in court.