So I was laying bed the other night just falling a sleep. Kids and wife are asleep and my Jack Russel starts growling and snarling at the front door. This is something he never does. I think my feet hit the floor twice between my bedroom and getting to the front door. My heart was thumping and it turns out it was a wide eyed pizza guy at the wrong house.

I have been thinking to myself I never reached for my gun? My guns are in a safe because I have small children. Would I have time to get the keys? I am not noobi I am Marine Corps trained and have been shooting for years.

So if I am tired and groggy and this was a real emergency this experience has taught me I probably wouldnt go for my gun first. It would be me in my underwear fighting off bad guys or pizza guys LOL.

It is easy to judge or say what we would do in the middle of the after noon when we are wide awake but I wonder what other middle of the night experiences have others had. Would love to hear thoughts or others similar experiences.

That's one reason why I love DAO semi-auto handguns for home defense. I can leave the chamber empty with a full mag in place and they're about as child proof as a handgun can be but I can have the gun ready to go at the rack of a slide.
Don't get me wrong, I love revolvers, especially for plinking so I won't have to chase my brass around for reloading but a good semi is hard to beat when it's 3am and it's just you in your underware with a flashlight and a handgun with what ammo you have in the gun.

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S&W M642-2,
ATI 1911a1, 4.25"

I'd say you need to work on your mindset and your tactics. The "guns in safe" technique of home protection isn't the best solution with or without small children present.

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Steve
NJ State Trooper (rtd)

Wife likes to watch TV at night because I snore. Woke up one night reaching for the pistol in the nightstand because she had on some police show with sirens and a gun fight. I heard gun fire, I was going to get ready. No more gun shots or sirens on TV at night any more.

I have reached for my gun first when I woke up because I though I heard things go bump in the night but if I was in a dead sleep, all bets may be off. Sometime I think I could sleep through anything.

If you are worried about the kids, get a bio safe or a touch pad safe for a single gun by the bed. Learn to use it and get to it first.

I don't have kids so, fortunately, I can keep a fully loaded gun in my nightstand.

Every time I wake in the middle of the night because of some noise, the first thing I think of is the gun. Maybe I'm just overly paranoid.

You had an ah hah moment. We've all had them, since mine, I do the following. I have jeans laying at the foot of the bed, pistol and earphones laying on nightstand beside me. Magnums make noise in a closed space, even though the damage won't show up for a while. 12 Gauge is in closet, loaded. Be vigilant my friend, you know all that already from your time in the Marines.

You can get a small biometric lock box to keep your home defense pistol in. The pistol is secure and safe from children, but can be accessed by you and anyone you choose in seconds. These are sold at Bass Pro, Gander, most large gun stores, etc.

I don't necessarily answer the door with a gun in my hand unless it's a really odd hour or situation, but I always know where the closest loaded gun is in my home and the fastest route to it.

Christmas eve 2009 ... The wife and I are home alone, it's getting late, already dark outside.... She goes upstairs for something. I'm in my recliner by the back door and BAM, BAM, BAM someone's banging on my back door. I grab my gun, a Charter stub nose .38 sp and flip on the outside lights, fling open the back door and there stands my son, his wife and their 3 kids... They had driven 2500 miles over a period of 3 days to suprise us on Christmas.... We where suprised but not near as much as he was when he saw the 38 in my hand.... Christmas 2010 he called first before co ming over. Always a good practice...
We had a good Christmas that year, still have fond memories of that old Charter .38

You're kidding, right? You call that childproof? Kids are smarter than you think and they get killed that way. I would never!

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Dick

I suggest that you not open the door, or assume anything, regardless of the costume they are wearing. I would also suggest that you find a way to keep folks from having immediate access to your door (S). Amazingflapjack.

I don't have kids- that's an important part of my 'strategy.' Just about 3 nights ago my Yorkie started growling, she never does that either. Then I noticed the outside auto-light had come one. I immediately reached in the drawer of my bedside table, picked up the SD9 with a weaponlight, and headed for the back door. As I went I walked right past my shotgun with the weaponlight on it. I just totally forgot it was there- I mean my hand was 1 foot from the shotgun when I opened the bedroom door. Anyway, no one was out there, wind probably blew limbs that rustled, and made the light come on. Yall know how the ankle-biters are- yakkin all the time, never say nothin'..kinda like my mother-in-law.

Some small adults have trouble rackin' the slide on a full size semi. I really doubt that a 5 year old could rack the slide unless it's superman's kid. Besides, my youngest is 31 and living in AZ. No kids in the house, unless you count my two cats.

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S&W M642-2,
ATI 1911a1, 4.25"

My strategy is simple......I have a whole house alarm with battery back up. If a door or window is breached I will know! Along with that is a pistol at the ready bedside. I have had an alarm in middle of night and it is startling to say least. I woke up to the siren and grabbed pistol with light and investigated. Fortunately was a false alarm. The "drill" allowed me to get a practice run without any danger although I did not know that at the time.
I do secure my pistol during day by carrying it!

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Regards
Paul

I have a Gunvault bolted to the top of my dresser and one bolted to a shelf in the closet by the front door.

The only way for someone to get into my house is to drive through the front door. So I have plenty of time.

3rd generation S&W autos or any other pistol with a magazine disconnect safety might a better option for you. With these you can load a round into the chamber, remove the magazine, and place the pistol some place handy. Stash the magazine some place where the kids can't reach. Next time Mr. Jack Russel starts barking pick up your pistol and swing by your stash on the way to the front door.

Just a thought - maybe faster than opening the safe.

Out
West

Having kids my first instinct was get between the perceived danger and my kids bedrooms. So I think I may get one of those bio-metric single gun safes and stage it someplace high enough out of the kids reach but closer to the front door. I have the other gun safe in my bedroom.

I can appreciate the suggestions about semiautos and mags I do have a 1911 with 4 full mags in the safe in my bedroom. But I prefer my revolver with crimson trace grips for HD. No safeties to worry about and with the lazer no chance of missing my intended target. Which with this "drill" I think the lazer grips are more important than I thought.

I also wont have any gun in my house that isn't locked some how. I know a kid that accidently shot and killed his best friend at 9 years old because they got his dads revolver out of his night stand loaded it and were playing with it. The risk is to great to take chances. I will also do what my dad did and taught me everything about the guns in the house. I believe this takes away the mystery and will make the kids not care about playing with it without supervision.

This also gave me a new found respect for my Jack Russel. I always thought he was a chicken dog afraid of his own shadow but that might not be the case

When I was growing up Pap child proofed the loaded guns by telling us if we played with them he would hit us so hard it would take 2 days to walk back. It worked then and it worked with my son. Larry

Same here. Only difference, I wake up and grab the revolver and light. I then watch the bedroom door and listen, all the while allowing my body to wake up. I then slowly investigate, not rushing into anything. And it doesn't hurt to practice this a few times each month, simply the act of retrieving the gun and light and going through the drill (do it when the house is empty, no sense worrying the family).

Buy one of these.

Top Draw

It's the best money you will ever spend.
No batteries to fail and if you do a school project with your kids
and fall asleep with Elmer's glue on your finger,
you can forget about the ones that read fingerprints, because they won't.

Attached Images

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To the OP I would not suggest stashing it near the front door somewhere... Because if someone does break in you wont be able to access it.

My suggestion is the Bio Safe at bed side. It takes literally a second to open becuase its just reading your finger print. Don't worry about it being high and out of reach, unless your kids can grab you hand and put it on the safe while you are asleep they wont be able to open it.

Keep the gun chambered and safety off while in the safe. Hear a bang it takes a second to open, run past your kids room.

Personally, I'm 24 years old living on my own with a roommate, no kids in the house. My ar is in the closet against the side with a loaded mag by it, not in it.

On the bed side table I keep my Glock chambered with a flash light.

To the person that was asking if its paranoia, I would vote no! There is a significant difference between paranoia and being ready.

I have had someone try to break in my house and it is not pleasent to be in a vulnerable position.

Christmas Eve, 2005. I'm less than two weeks home after my first tour in Iraq (a very LONG 16 months away from home). About 3:00 in the morning I hear my wife scream "Help me!" from about 18 inches away on her side of the bed. Next thing I know, I'm standing in the adjacent bathroom, scanning from the doorway, Colt Commander in my hand. Turns out she was just having a dream about some movie she had watched recently and was being chased by something "big and ugly" (And no, not me). I don't remember rolling out of bed, grabbing the Colt from my bedside drawer, taking cover behind the wall of the bathroom, none of it. Just pure conditioned reaction to a perceived threat. I do remember how really peeved she was when I woke her up to make sure she was okay. Her: "Did you HAVE to wake me up?" Me: "Did you HAVE to scare the holy bejeesus out of me?" Women...

A lot of answers but none that matches my situation. I've thought about how awkward it would be to answer the door to someone with a gun in my hand in a non emergency situation so I have come up with a solution for this. I have been teaching my fiancée to shoot now for about a year and she's getting very proficient with the pistol. Luckily I don't have any children to worry about, but if I did I would still keep my pistol where it stays at night. I have built a small hanging "box" if you will at the head of the bed that is completely invisible and near impossible to find unless you knew about it, this box however is quickly accessible and safe (in my opinion) for children.

My late night reaction is to reach for the gun first (and I've done this for many bumps in the night), but here is where I differ from most people. I would do better in a close quarters fight than my fiancée, and for that reason when I reach for the gun, I rack it and hand it to her while I go to address the situation. She waits and listens as close but out of sight as possible in case she is needed.

I had to do this about a month ago. Very strange how things happen.

At about 1am I woke up with a very bad feeling, and I couldn't describe it fully now if I tried. Either way I felt it warranted me to put the gun under the pillow, and I did and fell back asleep. At about 3:30am I woke up to a violent and loud banging at the front door. Grab the gun, rack it back, hand it to the misses and off to the door I go. It turned out to be a pregnant woman who was kicked out of her boyfriends car about 3 miles down the road in 20 degree weather with caries and flip flops on. I let her in the house and called for transport for her, and the whole while my fiancée sat readily in the other room with the pistol just in case.

Although it was a false alarm it was a GREAT feeling how efficiently we handled that situation from a dead sleep in the middle of the night. I feel that if you have a significant other, then they care about defending themselves, you and their home just as much as you do and it's your responsibility to enable them to do so. Alone your strong but if you can have a mini gang waiting for any intruders in your house your MUCH stronger.

I was recently awakened by a loud rattling sound and the cat running up under the bed and as I quickly approached the back door I realized my nightstand gun was in my hand. As I slowly opened the door, prepared for the worst I heard the sound again behind me. I really have to learn to take the change out of my pockets when I do laundry.

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sticks-n-stones&hollowpoints

Frankly I care not whether one who knocks on my door in the middle of the night likes the manner in which I answer their knock.

And one can answer while armed and keep the weapon either hidden or in a non threatening but ready position.

As to the subject of waking with one's wits about them, I got in a very bad habit in that regard, so a warning.

I had a problem with the burglar alarm. I knew that I had a malfunction and that the service department was having a problem fixing it.

I had a bad motion detector and it would go off in the wee hours. I got into the habit of jumping out of bed and rushing to the main control panel, which was next to one of the entry doors so as to turn it off before the monitoring service called.

Obviously this was dumb. Everyone who studies accidents, tragedies, etc., knows that bad things usually happen in conjunction with otherwise innocuous events.

I think or hope that I have broken myself of that habit.

I mention it here only as a warning to others that they not let themselves get moustrapped.

I have not had the alarm go off for several years now but when it goes off next my intention is to reach for my revolver and sit tight until the BG comes to the bedroom door or until the service calls and tells me what their monitor shows. At that point, I will make a decision as to whether to go to the panel and turn it off or to ask for the sheriff.

My system is too old to find a remote that tells me what set the system off. I plan to replace the system, this summer, I plan to replace the system this summer, an expensive proposition as I have sensors on every door and window plus fire and smoke alarms. We junked the motion detectors.

So bottom line: Don't let past events warp your view of a present event.

Ore as engineers constantly remind us, don't assume anything as it will make an *** of u and me

Jenseru:

One other thing.

Going to the door unarmed with your wife armed is a bad idea.

What would happen if the guy at the door was a BG, big and tough and quick enough to push through the door and grab you, holding you as a shield, hostage, etc., maybe with a knife at your throat or a gun at your head...

You wife would then be rendered totally checkmated.


things would quickly go very bad for both of you.

Either take your gun with you or stay with her.

the only problem with that is if you put yourself between her with the gun and the threat.

This is why I make sure I have quick access to a mini gun safe near my bed and practice opening and drawing from it. Again, its a "what if" scenario, but if someone got in the house and came as far as my room, its an easy quick open and grab for the .380.

I'm glad to see that you weren't faced with anyone with bad intentions OP.

About 15 years ago, while living in a large apartment complex, I was awakened from a dead sleep just after dawn by a horrendous crash. It was incredibly disorienting -- I layed there for just a second trying to figure out if it was a dream or if it was real... once I decided it was most likely real, I went charging out of the bedroom with the mindset that I was going to kick the holy ****** out of some *****hole who desperately deserved it...

...I had a loaded Glock 23 in my nightstand and it never crossed my mind to grab it...

...fortunately for me, what it turned out to be was the 4'x4' mirror in the bathroom came off the wall and blew up into a million pieces.

I learned two very important lessons out of all this. #1, always secure big heavy mirrors with screws, not just glue. And #2, the gun is always the first thing I grab now when something goes bump in the night!

Stupid question, perhaps, but I'll ask it all the same - if someone comes knocking on your door and you didn't invite anyone over, why even bother answering? That would seem to address the question of how to answer the door armed.

I'm not so worried about getting grabbed and used as a shield, I'm a big guy myself and have LEO training as well. Not to mention, she's sitting at the doorway of the bedroom with an open ear. She's not a bad shot, but she wouldn't hesitate to put a few rounds in him quickly. I take her to the range every time I go and she does the same practices I do. She's proficient enough that if I can give her any opening she can take a shot. I might get tagged (hopefully not) but I know it would just be from the bullet passing through and not from her missing and hitting me.

Ideally I'd like to get another pistol I can answer the door with, but for the time being I don't have any but the one so I have to make the best of it.

I figure the pistol is better with her than locked up with me if I get into a scuffle with the guy. The gun is useless then, and if the guy happens to overpower me the gun's his. But if it's sitting safely between her hands, I can hold the guy off and she can take a shot.

Either way, I have to agree with the person who said if you didn't invite anyone over why open the door. That's true, but as my previous story explained, you might not have invited someone over, but it might be an emergency for someone else, and I wouldn't want to be the one who turned someone away for worry of my safety and caused harm to them by doing so.

I always check outside discretely before opening up the door. Check the blind spots, obvious hiding places and check the back door to make sure it's secured and no one is outside it.

I just find it safer to stick to typical gang tactics, lol, open the door, be cautious, but have a buddy in the background with a loaded gun if ***** hits the fan.

So the night time has been eventful at my house as I am the OP and this is my second incident in a month. I think I need to move LOL. So at 10:45pm there was banging at the door and my good ol Jack Russel was going nuts at the door again. Jumped out of bed took 10 seconds to retrieved my revolver from the safe next to my bed. Hit the kitchen light on my way to the door so light would be at my back but I could still see. Looked out the blinds and it was this crazy old guy I had let use my phone earlier in the afternoon. Left the chain on the door but opened it a crack. He asked if I could dial another number for him. I told him to never show up again after dark. I will help out anyone during the day but don't show up when the lights are out. I felt alot more confident in my reaction this time. I was at the door armed in a few seconds. Only thing that didn't change is I was still at the front door in my underwear lol. I guess I should wear shorts to bed if this is going become a regular thing.

Lol, don't bother with the shorts, I answer the door at night in my boxers too. What matters is your response time which as you said, you've improved.

Back when my children were small I installed a lock on my bedside table. The key was on my car key ring, so I had to lock the table in order to drive to work. it became a habit to unlock the table at night and re-lock it the next AM.

Never had an incident , but the M-19 was ready if need be.

I also trained my boys at a very early age about guns, but the lock remained in use even after they had grown and moved away.That old table is gone now, & I have Grand children I guess I better get another locking nightstand, and relearn that old habit.

Or maybe you just have your priorities straight.

While I keep a handgun in the bedroom and a 9mm carbine on the way to the front door next to the door is an umbrella stand. In the umbrella stand, among other items is a cricket bat and a machete.

I also have one of these on top of the stand next to my bed. Inside it reside by BG 380 and my M&P9. I practice routinely to get inside: twist the knob counterclockwise, and then push the buttons in the sequence I set when I bought it. Twist the knob clockwise and lift the lid.

I wanted a simplex lock. No keys, no batteries, and nearly impossible to defeat by children. If you really wanted to reduce the time to get into the box, you could "preload" as many buttons in the unlock sequence as desired, leadning to as few as one additional button push to unlock the box. I don't do this, as I fear I may forget to reset the lock in the morning, but it's an idea.

Well I don't have any kids in the house anymore, all raised and that means I don't worry about the Persuader under the bed with the collapsible but and 3-3"#4 Bucks followed by 5 3" 00 Bucks. But I need Jeannine there to wake me up, she says they would break the door down and be in to get me and I'd sleep trhu it???? But if she wakes me I got a rude awakening for rude individuals that don't wait to be invited in!! Now once outa bed it's time to put the 1911 on, even if I am just watchin TV. I don't get outa bed without it. They always teach you if you don't have it with you that is when you will need it!!! Never hurts to be ready.

I keep a S&W Sigma .40 in a "bed holster" right below my pillow. Who ever invented these little beauties should win an award! Easy, quick, reliable access. Plus, it is unseen under the sheets or bedspread which hangs down on the side of the bed. Lost better than leaving it sit on the nightstand and having to hide it every time I leave home for a few days.

I live by myself, so I only have to worry about kids when friends or family are visiting. My system is quite simple. I keep my dog close by and my Remington 870 even closer.

I live in a quiet neighbourhood, but there have been a few home invasions in the past couple of years. Most of them quite violent. I've had a couple of false alarms, and I've always acted in the same rather unheroic way: putting as many heavy closed doors between me and the potential threat as possible, and laying in wait with all the firepower I could get my hands on.

I'm not about to go around a dark house, half asleep, looking for a burglar.

Of course, living alone makes everything a lot easier. I don't have to worry about family members coming home late at night, children, etc.

I always include my cell phone with the light and revolver that are next to my bed. Gotta remember that cell phone. I keep 911 on speed dial as well as the county sheriff, city police, and even the poacher-arson hot line. I live way out in the sticks so it would take quite a while for the sheriff to find this place. Cell phone.........
Peace,
gordon

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better have that checked

You could keep one out of the safe. At night leave it in the nightstand with the mag loaded but the chamber clear(or just keep the mag out of the weapon) If you need it, its there. I know anything is possible in life but I would highly say you or your wife would wake up if one of your kids walks into the room late at night. In the morning when you leave, put the gun back in the safe or take it with you and place it in your glovebox while at work.

-on a side note, i would not leave any form of weapon close to a door. All of these situations that are being talked about is a "what if". Lets say one night your laying in bed and have been sick. So you take somehting to help you sleep and this one night someone decides you have something they want. They break the window on a door. You hear it and wake up but bc of the medicine you are out of it and are not sure if you really heard something. All while a person is in your house looking around. "what if" he happens to find that nice piece of hardware right next to the door? Will he be happy with his loot and leave or will you walk out your bedroom, weapon in hand and now your house just turned into a shooting match.

I agree with you 100%, one thing we were taught to always be aware of was weapons of opportunity. Leaving a weapon in plain sight, or out of your immediate reach at home is a large liability. I can understand in a closet in your room, but as far as I'm concerned, outside the room is a big no no. I constantly tell my girlfriend, never leave the weapon away from you when I'm away from home. Let's say she's cooking in the kitchen and leaves the SD9 on the coffee table in the living room. If someone were to kick in that door, they'd see the pistol, and if they were unarmed before, or armed lightly (with a knife, etc) they now they are armed. Or at least armed with a very serious weapon.

All in all I think everyone responding on this thread have solid ideas, and the same way we argue about what if's, we can argue that everyone has a certain preferance that works better for them than our own individual response. I don't think there were really any wrong answers, just a matter of opinion, or training.

If you feel leaving the gun in the nightstand is the best way to defend yourself, and your confident in your ability, and have perhaps proven this in the past. Stick to your routine. Luck might not be in your favor and you may have an unwanted guest on one of the nights your trying to adjust your routine and be in shock when your defense isn't where it normally is.

Old habits die hard.

My own advice and knowledge tells me there are lots of ways one can gain entrance into a home without making a ruckus. And because of this, I don't feel comfortable with my firearm in the nightstand. I have it in a custom box between my bed and the wall at my head. Easy access for me, and I don't have to worry about some criminal tip-toeing through my room searching, only to find a weapon of opportunity in my nightstand. I know that even if the said criminal knows where my weapon is, he can't get to it without disturbing me, and thus waking me up.

Small lock box with a spring-loaded door will do you well, with practice you can have it opened quickly. Put one pistol in it as your go to gun. Practice.

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Just the opinion of a kid

My kids are all gone, and although I live in a very low crime area, I am prepared with a shotgun loaded with LE 132 by my bed, my 1911 in my night stand, and my wife has a model 36 in her night stand.

With that said, when the grand kids sleep over all my guns are locked up in the safe.

It becomes a whole different scenario with kids in the house.

We have kids & live in a low crime area. That said I have an iron outside my safe that's easy to get to. It's hidden & unloaded but ammo is not far away, also hidden. Just in case.

A Mossberg 12 gauge Cruiser with pistol grip and 18-1/4" barrel is the ultimate self home defense weapon, basically point at the noise and rack the gun and pull the trigger, usually racking the gun is enough to make someone leave as soon as possible, they are not that expensive and will do enough damage to the bad guy to stop him or her in their boots!

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59,M&P9,40,40C,357,(2)45,G26

Measure the distance between the door to your bedroom and where you will most likely be when the BG comes through the door.

Then go outside and shoot at a man sized paper target.

Unless you live in a castle, you will be surprised at how small the shot pattern is. Just a little larger than a .45.

You MUST point it as accurately as you would a hand gun.

Now at 21 ft., it is a different story.

Try it.

Bird shot.

Matters not what kind of shot.

The idea that just because it is sawed off means that you are going to fill your doorway with shot is totally wrong.

You will probably be less than 10 ft. from the door. That does not give the shot time to spread.

I have an 18" 12 ga. magnum. I have made the test.

Try it.

My headboard has hidden compartments and cubby holes. I keep extra mags and a flashlight in the compartments, and a sw1911 in the cubby hole directly above my head.