I have no kids. My roommate has no kids. He has his M&P .45 with one in the pipe in his night stand. Although i don't go into his room, i think he may have his Shotgun in his closet as well. I have my M&P 9mm with a streamlight hanging off it with one in the pipe in my night stand. Firstly BG would have to get past the 3 pit bulls in the house if SHTF. He has 2 pit bulls and I have 1. I’m pretty sure one of his pit bulls might go to town on a BG if they got into the house. The other one would run and hide (this is a theory. she hasn’t been tested). Mine would be under the bed quicker than my cat (my pit was found under the bed when I got into a shouting match with an old neighbor who was at my door haha). However, my room is on the second floor and my roommate's room is on the first floor. They would have to deal with him and his pups first.

There has been a couple times where he has heard something going on outside and before going to investigate he always called up the stairs to me if I’m home before going outside. If I’m at home I don’t think my roommate would go outside to investigate something shady without telling me and vice versa.

If I did have kids, I would get a gun vault of some sort to sit on my night stand. Just a heads up, I was in my local gun shop today and was talking to one of the owners and he was saying how the bio safes weren’t very good yet. He had a lot of customers returning theirs because if your hands were dirty or sweaty, the safe would have difficulty recognizing your prints. I’m assuming the technology will only improve with time. Hopefully by the time I have kids, they will work very well.

I normally take my gun out of the safe when I get home from work . it will sit on the floor next to the sofa where I spend the next few hours watching tv . I have no kids , its just me and my girlfriend here . My girlfriend also has her own guns and is very proficient with them but she normally doesn't take hers out unless we are going to the range. When we go to bed I have my gun , cell, and flashlight on the nightstand . We have practiced taking cover behind the bed while she dials 911 , and I will then go to the bedroom door and hopefully I will not see anyone in our apt . We had someone banging on our door in the middle of the night once and yelling , but it turned out he was drunk and at the wrong door . My heart was beating so fast as I was standing behind the hall way wall looking at the back door with gun in hand just waiting for the back door to pop open . Luckily for me and the drunk the police showed up as my girlfriend was on the phone with them the entire time .

I have a 4500 sq ft house. My wife keeps trying to fill it up. Anyway I make a habit of walking around the house with no lighting on. Been doing this since we bought the house. So that at least gives me at least a leg up on anyone in the house. Second id the less frequented sections of the house the lighting isn't as good as the rest of the house. There are spots that if you are still no one will notice you. And should I hear funny noises I always investigate with 4 cell maglite and trusty .45. I'd rather have the neighbors see me doing that than call the cops because someone got shot. There have been a few daylight robberies in our area and I'm one of the first of my neighbors who will ask me to keep an eye on their house when they are gone. Frank

all my guns have a home in a safe too but before i go to bed i take out my 686 and place it in drawer with a led flashlite next to my bed. piece of mind my friend. when u wake up just put it back in the safe....better to be safe than sorry

This story reminds me of an incident years ago when I was stationed at Quantico.
I was dating a Marine Captain at the time. She lived in a ground floor apartment in one of the big complexes just off base.
Late one evening, she heard someone trying to open her door.
Kathy takes her 1911, jacks a round into the chamber and flings the door open to confront the would-be intruder.
Turned out to be a new resident who had used the wrong entrance, think it was his apartment.
Dropped both of the grocery bags he was holding.
Disaster averted. Bet he didn't make THAT mistake again!

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

She was foolish opening a perfectly good closed door on a possible intruder...

One thing I learned was how bad my dexterity is when I wake up from a dead sleep. Someone decided to unload a hand gun in the middle of the street one night and I found it almost impossible to get a gun out of a generic gun case sitting under the bed. My fingers wouldn't operate the slides to get it open, which means all I had for 10 seconds was a heavy plastic case.

Now my gun sits loaded, safety on, next to the bed. No gun case, No fumbling in the dark.

I bought an SD specifically for bedside use- with the weaponlight- no manual safety. I have trigger-finger- on 4-5 fingers, 2 on each hand, and I know what you mean about dexterity when you wake up. Been getting shots to make them better, even had surgery on my gun-hand, may need another. Been practicing left-handed more lately due to that. Bad news is, as of now, the BG might be pretty safe if I have to go lefty..

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No work? No eat. 2 Thes

One of my friends was home cooking suppper at about 1600hrs when the front door was kicked in and two persons entered but were soon discouraged when her arms came up with a 9mm, one of them took a step forward, she shot but missed. The two man took of running scared. Police came to talk to her about the shot fired and she told them the story and said she was scared for her life and shot her pistol, they asked her did you hit them....she said no i wasnt really even aiming at them, "i saw his right foot step foward after i pointed the gun at him so i fired" for inches to the left and she would have hit her target but she admitted to being really scared and pulling the trigger hard when she fired. Since that happened to my friend i have from that point on always answered to the door with caution. Crazy world with crazy people we live in my friends.

"It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war."

John F. Kennedy

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Aim small miss small

And i always have my SW9VE in my holster on me regargles if im cooking, cleanning, wacthing a movie with the lady or whatever else i do its always on me and loaded. i have no kids yet but my gun is withing grabbing distance when im sleeping, when i do have kids the only thing that will change is that the shot gun i have next to the bed that i dont carry with me around the house will be locked in a safe during the day but at night when i would go to bed i would unlock it and when A.M. would come around would relock it. as far as my pistol goes...... well its not just a gun its an extension of me that may only leave when i am laid to rest 6 feet under.

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Aim small miss small

I recall one night at a motel in Bakersfield (I've had the worst experiences in Bakersfield-) when someone started hitting the door and trying to force the door lock. I found myself standing behind the door with my Model 60 pointed at it, finger off the trigger, and I was yelling "if you open the door I will shoot." Funny thing is I have no recollection of getting out of bed, getting the M60 from the nightstand and closing the cylinder (back then I kept the revolver open so shooting would be a "2-step" process). More recently I heard steps on the deck outside my bedroom, but I remember getting up, picking up the 1911 and racking the slide (I still keep it in condition 3), finger off the trigger. I hit the light and opened the curtain and found a mule deer about as surprised as I was....

All this is to say I have no idea of "what's in control" while transitioning from sleep to awake - but somehow the idea of "finger off trigger" got implanted pretty deep. I wonder if there is a way to train your waking response?

Along with physically practicing the process of getting up (as if waking), getting the firearm and coming to "ready", there's real value in visualizing the process last thing you do before going to sleep.

Turn the light out, lie in bed, and think about where the gun is and what you'd have to do, step-by-step, to get it safely in hand and at the ready on that particular night.

This will help in actually doing so quickly and safely if necessary.

Thats what i would do as i would close my eyes...i kept saying it and thinking it.....my gun is to my right on the dresser if im sleeping on my belly....my gun is to my left if sleeping on my back....my gun IS loaded and ready to fire and the only safety is me not pulling the trigger....ive done this for just over a year and i though i would stop but now i cant sleep with out thinking it...kinda like counting sheep...i also talked my girldfriend into setting the alarm at a random time(not known to me) during the night so i can practice our HSP (home safety Plan). the first time i completly grabbed my pistol wrong and almost dropped it, but the more i practiced this the better i became at it. We dont do it as much now (only about once a week) because now its like second nature to me. and for the people that are wondering that he practice with a loaded firearm the answer is no i did not.

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Aim small miss small

For kids: consider training them early. My 5 yr olds got curious about my guns, so I let them safely handle them, talked quietly about what they are used for and the damage they can cause and let them lose interest as mine did. I've seen my son teach his kids the same way and they too lost interest.

For storage: consider one of those screw-to-the wall gun magnets. Place it high on a wall inside a closet and cover the unit with a small cloth the same color as the wall. Two push pins hold the cloth in place. High enough for kids to not reach it and about as well hidden as you can get without a safe, etc. Those magnets are strong...so practice getting your piece off!

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Term limits!

I live in a 8000 square foot house so I go for my MP-15.

Children are grown, and the one that lives with us has her own gun. Grandchildren are teenagers and well-trained. My duty belt hangs on the headboard with the Model 686 near my head. My Model 37 and my EagleTac P20A2 set on "Turbo" (220 lumens) are on the nightstand. After my recent surgery, I got in the habit of sleeping in "lounge pants" with pockets. If the dog wakes me up and I don't hear anything but her, I'll pick up the Model 37 and flashlight, open the bedroom door for the dog to investigate whatever bothered her, and then follow. If the dog wakes me up and I hear noises, I'll just belt up, drop the Model 37 into a pocket, and pick up the flashlight. I'll have the wife use the intercom to alert my daughter in the other end of the house. The wife then secures her Model 681 with Crimson Trace grips and the phone. Again, the dog goes out first, then me. Daughter stays in her room with her 9mm and her knife collection. (Bad idea to go in there uninvited!)

If I'm home, I'm carrying. I don't answer the door without seeing who it is. At night, the porch light (180 watts of white light) makes it almost impossible for anyone to see inside the house even with the lights on. And, day or night, the dog sounds like she wants to eat whoever came up the sidewalk.

The next step is a infrared camera system with monitors in the bedrooms.

ECS

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CPT, Armor (Ret)
Luke 22:36

I like that idea...

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Jorge

1. Front door - includes the dining room windows.
2. Entry area/front porch - includes front bedroom windows.
3. Back door - includes the living room windows and back porch.
4. Garage - covers both doors, driveway, and front yard
5. Back of the house (2) - covers back yard and both rear bedrooms' windows.
6. Side yards (2) - covers side yards, 1 bathroom window, side garage access.

Eight infrared cameras with IR lights on them and I wouldn't need PTZ capability. Two monitors so the master bedroom and my daughter's bedroom can watch everything. One multichannel DVR to record it all.

Sounds like a plan.

ECS

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CPT, Armor (Ret)
Luke 22:36

I agree with TNFrank. I keep a G22 Glock with me at all times when at home, full clip, nothing in the chamber, and trigger already pulled. Very simple to rack the slide, and you're ready. Night sights help a lot.

No offense, but leave it to a glock owner to refer to a magazine as a clip.

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk 2

[QUOTE=Jinseru;136509498]No offense, but leave it to a glock owner to refer to a magazine as a clip.

OH well, can't be perfect. Clip, Mag, ammo holder, whatever floats your boat.

Lol, you do have a good point my friend, lol. I guess old habbits die hard, BLET really drilled not calling it a "clip" into my head. 50 push ups and a bunch of ridicule for every slip up will do that to you, lol.

Sent from my LG-LG855 using Tapatalk 2

FWIW I prefer a nice red fiber optic sight to night sights, I've found that in any kind of urban or home setting you will almost never have a "no light" situation, meaning that there will always be at least some ambient light. In a low light situation I think that fiber optics get much more noticeable and are easier to point than your standard tritium sights and don't wear out over time to boot!

For me the most important thing for HD or SD is practice practice practice! You should be proficient enough with any gun that you plan on putting your life or the lives of your loved ones on that you can point shoot it based on muscle memory inside CQB distances (up to 7 yards). I have been in my share of gunfights overseas and I can vouch that the first thing you forget about when the rounds are going both ways are your sights!

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Son of a Gun...Smith

I live alone in a small 1000sq ft house. About seven weeks weeks ago I'm puttering around in the back yard and see two rather large men approach my front door. They sound off with "Hello" I reply hello right back as I approach the door from the back yard. Their next responce is "Police" I reply "uh oh!" They say everything is fine. They ask me if I have noticed any activity at the empty house next door. The owners had both passed away within months of each other. I stated that indeed I had noticed some people in and around the place but that I had just assumed...Theres that word ASSUMED...it was relatives of the couple checking on the property, I was told no it wasn't relatives and that the house had been broken into and vandalized and trashed. They showed me the result and it was just sickening to see what they had done to those poor peoples house. The police officers spent a long time with the people two doors down. Turns out, the main vandal was the daughter/daughter-in-law of the people two doors down. Seems she has a drug problem or whatever. Relatives of the deceased owners finnaly show up and clean up the mess after weeks of hard work. Cutting to the chase of the story, 04:30 I'm awakened by repeated banging on my front door, door bell going like a bat out of hell, all three dogs raising hell. I round the corner coming out of my bedroom in my boxers and yell "WHO IS IT?". Bear in mind I am unarmed. Don't even own a gun. Outside on my front porch is the guy from two doors down begging me to call the police. My first mistake was to open the door. Just because someone is pounding on your door doesn't mean you have to open it. All I see is this guy covered in blood, telling me he had just caught his wife with another guy. I ask his address as I'm firing up my cell phone and dialing 911. EMS arrive first Police 30 minutes later. Seems they were familar with the neighbor from many prior visits. I'm dressed by now having coffee and observing everything from the driveway. The police seem to be in the process of leaving so I approached them and asked if it was OK if I cleaned up all the blood on my porch. They said yeah go ahead. I didn't know if a murder, assult or whatever had happened. I find out later after chatting with other neighbors, a single lady, and a single Mom with three kids, across that the wounded guy had been pounding on their door which they properly ignored. I saw him later that week and he told me that the women across the street refused to answer their doors. I told him "That was was because they were terrified" All this got me to thinking, what if after opening the front door, just a crack mind you, this nut had charged into my house. It would have been a dumb move, I'm a big guy, with three big dogs, but BG are known to be stupid. How would I have defended myself? All this is going on in the midst of the Trevon Martin/George Zimmerman debacle. I have since decided it's time to be prepared. I have purchased a S&W 642/LG-105 laser sights, and an M&P 9mm shield. I am in the process of obtaining my CC permit. I have taken the proficency test and received my papers stating so. I have been to the range and fired both weapons many times. The shield being my favorite. I keep at least one close by at night while sleeping, and during the day while at home.In the future, should a BG attempt unlawful entry into my abode, I feel much safer. Semper paratus, semper vigilo.

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642-2/LG-105,M&P 9 & 40 Shield