How to keep handgun close by at night?

[mikestesting]

Being a gun owner, I have several guns in my collection that I have for home/self-defense. I keep my Ruger Security Six in my nightstand drawer next to my bed. My wife just recently gave birth to our first child. While my son is only 2 months old and not even crawling yet, I have thought quite a bit about protecting my child from my loaded gun. My father taught me how to shoot a gun at the age of 4. Not only did he teach my how to shoot, he taught me gun safety. I used to get smacked by my father for pointing toy guns at people.

I'll have no problem teaching my son gun safety when the time is right.

But my question is how do you other gun owners keep a gun handy at night while also being safe about it? Do any of you think it's appropriate for me to keep doing what I'm doing or to adopt a different approach?

[Richard P]

Have you considered one of the bed side safes ? The firearm is available but can be secured during the day.  That is, assuming no one carries off the furniture.
I'm going to extend a bit here. Regardless of anyone's early training, all that is in the past and each case doesnt represent the future. Here goes: I would not allow toy guns of any sort. When the children were old enough they were shown real guns with the associated lessons. They were still not allowed toy guns. Guns are not toys.  Guns are serious.
If there was curiousity it was met with an examination of whatever they wanted to see----after a review of safety rules.  They were not allowed to ''show off dad's guns''.   
If the words ''eternal vigilance'' had any meaning, it is highlighted by having both children and firearms in your life concurrently.  I hope your wife is ''on board'' with gun handling.  She'll want every precaution as the children begin to develop their personalities.  Congratulations.  rp

[Empty Quiver]

Many use something like a Gun Vault. The push button lock eliminates keys in the middle of the night. You are correct to concern yourself.

[Graybeard]

Gun proof the kid don't try to child proof the gun. If they are taught from day one about gun safety and allowed to satisfy their curiosity about them by handling an unloaded gun and being taught NEVER EVER touch it until it is handed to them then the child is gun proofed so no matter where they run into one they know what to do.

[Ladobe]

Something like a GunVault Biometric will get it done I guess if you feel the need.   Keeping a loaded handgun in a night stand, holstered on the beds headboard below the top of the mattress, etc, or a loaded shotgun in an appropriate corner is how I kept mine IF I even bothered to have a loaded gun in the bedroom even when living married in CA before I had a kid.   Later when we did start a family there really wasn't much need for a night gun at any of the places we lived, still isn't even living where I do now IMO.
 
Being a war baby and so kid in the late 40's/50's, I took pretty the same approach with my son my folks took with me with guns.   Firearms were tools on the ranch, and for hunting, not for play, even my first BB gun.   So he was taught to respect them from a very early age, shown how they worked and how to be handled safely, that they were not to be loaded except for use, that they were not toys to show his friends and that they were strictly hands off without adult supervision, period.   By letting him handle them, see how they worked, etc, and when old enough by shooting them they were no longer a mystry to him that he just had to explore on his own.   He knew all he had to do was ask and I would make time for him if he had a question, if he wanted to shoot.   So he respected the hands off and never touched them even IF they were not locked away in my full size gun safe, and would not let his friends touch them either. 
 

[Lloyd Smale]

Just about every gun in the house thats not in the safe is loaded. theres three just in the bedroom that are loaded all the time. I dont have kids anymore around though other then my grandchildren and when there comming here i make sure all the loaded  guns are in the bedroom or otherwise locked up. The kids have been trained from an early age both my children and grandchildren to never go in my bedroom and they just dont. Also the way my home is set up youd have to be about blind not to see them heading that way. My kids and grandkids have also been trained to never touch a gun without asking. the grandkids will come over and i can have 10 handguns laying on the coffee table and theyd never touch one of them. Best thing you can do is take them out shooting often. After handling guns many times the wonder of them kind of goes away. I think the major problem is with kids that never have used them. they see them on tv in movies and are facinated by them. there amost a forbidden fruit that draws them like a magnet.

[GRIMJIM]

I have a holster screwed to the back of my nightstand. I unload and store the gun during the day and replace it loaded at night. And yes, gun safety as soon as they can talk.
 

[Curtis]

..........all of the above.  Although I never secured my guns from the kids, I don't disagree if someone chooses that route.  Some kids are more inquisitive, some more rebelious than others.  Mine were taught the seriousness of firearms as soon as they were old enough to understand, and that was pretty young.  Of course I held sway in other areas of discipline and the kids had already proved to be trustworthy or I would not have chanced it.  Being kids they bent and broke lesser rules at times, but to my knowledge they never violated the firearms protocols that I laid down.  Mistakes with firearms are tragic most of the time.
 
Ironically now that my kids are long out of the house and I have no grandkids, I use multiple GunVault (tm) safes at home.  My dogs eventually died off and were not replaced.  Without their first alert capability I feel better with my weapon secured beside my sleeping head.  I have several guns loaded and available when I'm at home, but they are all secured.  If the few seconds it takes to deploy a weapon is the reason I don't make it out alive, then so be it.  My decision, my life.
 
Curtis

[ironglow]

  First off, as GB said gun proof the child.. this requires a well disciplined child across the board.  If they ignore you in some things..that is all that is needed for a tragedy.  While your child is small (first couple years) you can do it by keeping the gun out of reach..up high.
  I suggest a gun concealing wall clock, mounted high..with no chairs around.  I made a clock that holds a small auto..a revolver would be as easy..
  http://www.cheatersspyshop.com/mantel-clock-gun-concealment-safe.html
 
   wall clock:   http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Clock-Hidden-Gun-Compartment/dp/B004N6JQQG   
 
  I suggest a very plain clock, one which in itself would not be worthwhile loot for a crook.  Perhaps there is a place in your bedroom where you could build in a hidden compartmrnt with a concealed trigger mechanism.
   

[hardertr]

I was raised around guns.  I got my first gun at age 8, but had access to my grandfather's guns (under his direct supervision) well before that.


With that said, I remember handling my step-dad's 1911 at a very early age....as soon as I first discovered it under the mattress.  Looking back, it's a wonder I never had an accident.  Although my grandpa did his very best to teach me gun safety and responsibility, the "curious child" part of me blocked out everything I was taught.  It wasn't grandpa's fault, or even my step-dad's fault for allowing easy access.  It was mine for being, well, a child.


He always kept the gun loaded, and it had a dangerously light/unstable trigger.  Like I said....it very well should have been disastrous.  I am not a religious man, but I can explain why the favorable outcome with nothing short of "someone was watching over me".....and it damned sure wasn't my parents!


Honestly, I think I would have been safer had the pistol been in plain sight and not "hidden".  This is highly debatable, but it was the thrill of doing something I knew I shouldn't have been that pushed me over the edge.  We always had shotguns and a 22 rifle out in the open for the occasional "critter", and not once can I recall having a desire to handle them for anything less than their intended use.


My oldest son is almost 5.  He knows I have guns, and is just starting to enjoy the idea of shooting my "real guns" with me.  He has no idea I have 2 under the mattress, but it's just a matter of time before he finds it.  I do impress the very basic idea of gun safety with him.  Nothing more than "don't touch it unless I hand it to you" and " a gun can kill someone and you will never be able to see them again".  Like I said, he is still VERY young and this is about all he is able to comprehend at this point.


A few precautions I take now:
- keep the pistols unloaded, and the loaded magazines separate.  It takes 5 seconds to grab a magazine and rack the slide if I ever need it.  He's not strong enough to chamber a round, and has never seen me load a magazine, so he doesn't understand that concept either.


- never let him play anywhere near our bed.  Hide-and-seek is always played ANYWHERE but in mommy and daddy's room.


- never let him suspect anything is under the mattress.


When he gets older, I will take different measures according to my assessment of his maturity and trustworthiness.


You can say all day long that you are a good parent and "KNOW" your child will never touch your guns.  Take it from 1st hand experience, a child's curiosity can very easily trump any of your preparation.

[huntingohio]

my kids are 3 and learning gun safety,
I carry everyday so it on me till i put on my pjs or take off my pants. At night I either put it in a haideaway wall clock or my night stand.
I leave the nightstand unlock at night but if im storeing the gun i can lock it.
It didnt come with a lock so i went to walmart and bought one, it was easy enough to mount up.
 
I'm glad that all guns come with a lock because i put it on them!, then put them in my closet, which also has a lock on it.
I keep all my gun keps on a nail  about 6 feet up in my pantry. I believe in reduncy when it comes to my childrens safety.

[Hooker]

hide the guns

Gun proof the kid don't try to child proof the gun. If they are taught from day one about gun safety and allowed to satisfy their curiosity about them by handling an unloaded gun and being taught NEVER EVER touch it until it is handed to them then the child is gun proofed so no matter where they run into one they know what to do.

Exactly
I was raised in a home full of firearms we were taught from an early age the rules.
My kids were taught the same way.
Kids are curious hide the guns from them and someday that curiosity will get them hurt or worse.

Pat

[ironglow]

  I too was brought up with guns..always one or two standing handy in a corner..but I still reccomend keeping them out of reach of toddlers.  Still, the gun safety can and should start with the toddlers.
   It is indeed a shame that so many youngsters are trained to be in deep paranoia even at the sight of a gun. This is purely a "knee jerk' reaction to inflammatory, liberal training.  Curiously, automobiles kill more people in the U.S. annually, than guns do and still we do not see people dreiven into frothing paranoia by the sight of a Chevrolet.
  ...But this of course is natural reaction by a "dumbed down" poplace, ....sheep awaiting slavery and slaughter.
   

[Lonegun1894]

My experience is limited to about 2-3 yrs of being in a relationship with a woman who had kids, who were 1.5 and 6yrs old at the time we got together.  This house had an attic that was as airconditioned as the house, but enough of a pain to get into that she had a bit of trouble getting into it, and it was impossible for the kids, so I kept most of my toys up there.  However, either a rifle or a shotgun was kept in the closet on a home made rack that was mounted just above the door with a small cloth cover so it didn't even look like a gun unless you expected it to be there, and cloth color matched the paint well enough that it was hard to see it up there to begin with.  As to handguns, I always carried at least two, and my 1911 stayed on my belt at all times until I went to bed, at which time it went into a mattress holster made by WRB.  It is basically a holster sewn to a long tab, so the holster hangs on the side of the mattress while the tab is held between the mattresses.  It holds the gun ready and in reach, but out of the way until you need it.  Then, as soon as I would get up, I would be dressed with my 1911 holstered again before I ever walked out of the room.  The backup gun would be put in the nightstand for the night. and also replaced back in my pocket when I first got dressed in the morning.  The kids were both taken to the range, and allowed to shoot anything they wanted as long as they were supervised and followed safety rules.  They were also taught to not touch any guns without asking and being given permission first, but they were also allowed to handle any weapon I had and got answers to any questions they asked to attempt to do away with any desire to sneak around behind our backs and handle any guns unsupervised.  This has been a few years ago, and I heard from her recently and was told that the older one still remembers the things she was taught, and the younger one has a responsible father who teaches him so he is even better than his sister.

[Spokerider]

Luckily, I don't live in an area that I feel my perceived safety requires me to have a gun so close at hand. I have three medium-large dogs, and they are indoors in my home at night, as they are part of the family. I figure that, albeit unlikely that they may ever be required to do so, they will buy me all the time that I will need to retreive my securely-stored shooter and ammo should the need ever arrise.
 
A dog is but one option available to you. 

[Hooker]

I don't feel the need to protect myself either I live in a good neighborhood I have two pot lickers who keep me warned of whats going on.
But I keep a loaded .410 above the kitchen door always have, my other guns are stored in my bedroom most in the safe but a loaded 357 mag resides under the mattress a 38 spl hangs out in my night stand my wife's night stand is home to her snub nose 357 mag. I keep auto loader usually the 40 XDM it has night sites under the pillow there's 12 ga 870 hanging from a wall rack and a 336 Marlin in 30/30. These guns are all loaded not because I feel threatened in my home but because I won't be threatened in my home. If God forbid the need to defend my home should ever arise I wont be fumbling around unlocking and loading guns when I should be protecting my family.

Pat

[Lonegun1894]

Hooker, I couldn't agree more.  Now that my situation has changed, well, there's no kids here so I am never very far away from a loaded gun no matter where I am in my home.  Granted, the vast majority of the use is various pests, mostly rats with a pelletgun lately, but the heavier duty stuff is still available, because, like you, no one will harm me or mine in my home.

[Curtis]

There is no such thing as a "safe" neighborhood.
 
Curtis

[Empty Quiver]

I'll tell you this there was not a single thing hidden in our house. Don't imagine you will hide anything in yours. I tinkered with just about every thing I should have not tinkered with. We had no firearms when I was growing up so I can't say what I would have done. We had an excellant Winchester pellet rifle that went on excursions several times, pretty sure I did not ask for permission.
 
Do teach your kids about guns early and often. Keep your guns under lock and key. For some the allure is too much, a good ass whooping may be a trigger pull too late to do any good. If that reason is not enough what about plain old burglury, most are there for fast and easy take that away from the thief.

[hillbill]

all posts are good advice. one thing i did when my son was young and still in the process of gunproofing him, i put the revolvers up and kept a large auto pistol on the bedstand loaded but with a empty chamber. until he was maybe 6 or 7 he did not have the strength to pull the slide back and get one in the chamber.so it was physically impossible for him to fire that gun. by that time he was a safe gun handler and also knew not to touch a gun unless he had permission. also if he had freinds over all guns were locked up. i dont trust other peoples raising.he is now 16 and very safe with guns.

[Curtis]

also if he had freinds over all guns were locked up. i dont trust other peoples
raising

That was pretty much the rule when I was a kid.  If one of my buddies was over, the guns were off limits (unless we were on an organized hunt).  I don't think anyone locked their guns up in the 70s.  If no guests were present though, they'd most likely glance at the gun cabinet to see which gun was missing to know if I was bird hunting or just out plinking.  Of course I had to buy my own ammo.
 
Curtis

[ironglow]

There is no such thing as a "safe" neighborhood.
 
Curtis

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
   Unfortunately, this is true.  I live in a rural area, but still we have had some burglaries recently..mostly in remotely placed homes, concealed from the sight of neighbors.  A deer cam might be a good investment..
 
   I suppose the miscreants are likely some kind of "drug head" needing some garbage to infuse himself with..

[Curtis]

Exactly Ironglow.  Those miscreants don't shop in their own neighborhoods, they come to more affluent and "nice" neighborhoods for that.  As was said by Hooker, I hope and pray it never happens that I need to defend my home with deadly force but I would sure hate to be caught short if the need does arise.
 
Curtis

[1911crazy]

My dogs are my alarm system at night.  I'm a very light sleeper and my cats make noise at night and if the dogs don't bark everything is ok.  I have a CZ82 9mm mak closeby with a maverick 500 riot shotgun with "00" and slugs. We now have bears in the neighborhood. (4 legged)

[HGunner]

Once my kids were old enough to potentially find or handle a gun I went out and bought a safe to lock up my guns.  At the same time I bought a single handgun safe with push button combination and installed it in the bedroom closet.  This is the way my guns have lived for many years now.  I take my kids to shoot and teach them gun safety.  I tell them to ask me anytime they want to shoot and I will take them.  I try to satisfy their curiosity but I still remove the risk of inappropriate handling as much as possible.  I remember not wanting to spend the money on safes but years later I am glad that I did.

[williamlayton]

I take a rather stoic view of gun safety.
You cannot prevent stuff from happening.
Gun safety is a good thing but it cannot prevent.
Every gun that I own is loaded---always has been, even as a child.
I keep some locked up--but they are loaded.
I had two friends who died in their youth due to hunting accidents.
Stuff happens---I had 5 friends die one night in an auto accident--stuff happens.
Blessings

[oldandslow]

No neighborhood is safe but mine is about as safe as you are going to get. I don't go armed and don't even worry and know of no one in the area that does. A little group of us watch each other's places also. I still have a shotgun and semi-auto ready to go in the bedroom just in case. There is a four year old that spends quite a bit of time here and I'm teaching her but I keep the firearms out of her reach. If I last long enough I'll have to do it again with her 10 month old sister. I don't mind the burden at all.

Like Graybeard said, gunproof the kids but remember that they are individuals and may just ignore all you have taught them under just the right circumstances. Like williamlayton said, stuff happens. Just because you teach them doesn't mean they always remember or in some instance even care.

[SHOOTALL]

Gun proof the kid don't try to child proof the gun. If they are taught from day one about gun safety and allowed to satisfy their curiosity about them by handling an unloaded gun and being taught NEVER EVER touch it until it is handed to them then the child is gun proofed so no matter where they run into one they know what to do.

I agree 100% and woulds add to test . I put a loaded blank gun out where each of my children could see it . By then each knew how to tell it was loaded ( a revolver). The oldest told me my gun was out. The middle one told mom the gun was out the youngest gave me heck about it. It should be said each child is different as to maturity and parents need to adjust training to such. They must know their child. They must be able to know when a child has a problem that needs dealing with. And most important the parent MUST ACT LIKE A PARENT .

[evidrine]

I was raised around guns.  I got my first gun at age 8, but had access to my grandfather's guns (under his direct supervision) well before that.


With that said, I remember handling my step-dad's 1911 at a very early age....as soon as I first discovered it under the mattress.  Looking back, it's a wonder I never had an accident.  Although my grandpa did his very best to teach me gun safety and responsibility, the "curious child" part of me blocked out everything I was taught.  It wasn't grandpa's fault, or even my step-dad's fault for allowing easy access.  It was mine for being, well, a child.


He always kept the gun loaded, and it had a dangerously light/unstable trigger.  Like I said....it very well should have been disastrous.  I am not a religious man, but I can explain why the favorable outcome with nothing short of "someone was watching over me".....and it damned sure wasn't my parents!


Honestly, I think I would have been safer had the pistol been in plain sight and not "hidden".  This is highly debatable, but it was the thrill of doing something I knew I shouldn't have been that pushed me over the edge.  We always had shotguns and a 22 rifle out in the open for the occasional "critter", and not once can I recall having a desire to handle them for anything less than their intended use.


My oldest son is almost 5.  He knows I have guns, and is just starting to enjoy the idea of shooting my "real guns" with me.  He has no idea I have 2 under the mattress, but it's just a matter of time before he finds it.  I do impress the very basic idea of gun safety with him.  Nothing more than "don't touch it unless I hand it to you" and " a gun can kill someone and you will never be able to see them again".  Like I said, he is still VERY young and this is about all he is able to comprehend at this point.


A few precautions I take now:
- keep the pistols unloaded, and the loaded magazines separate.  It takes 5 seconds to grab a magazine and rack the slide if I ever need it.  He's not strong enough to chamber a round, and has never seen me load a magazine, so he doesn't understand that concept either.


- never let him play anywhere near our bed.  Hide-and-seek is always played ANYWHERE but in mommy and daddy's room.


- never let him suspect anything is under the mattress.


When he gets older, I will take different measures according to my assessment of his maturity and trustworthiness.


You can say all day long that you are a good parent and "KNOW" your child will never touch your guns.  Take it from 1st hand experience, a child's curiosity can very easily trump any of your preparation.

I agree %100 with this the above statements.
I wont be the parent that has to tell myself "Well, I thought I taught him well enough, and now he's gone forever." A child will always be a child and at anypoint in time curiosity will get the better of them. Whether its a small lesson learned or something a lot more serious, it will happen often. Just as it is your responsibility as a partent to teach your children about firearm safety,  it is also your responsibility to make your home safe for them. If you think that just by teaching them these things  you have nothing to worry about, you are taking a chance. Its not your job to take chances with your childs safety. Maybe you will be lucky and your children will listen to everything you say never mis-handle a gun. What if your wrong? . A life can end in a flash and that is not a lesson that I am willing to realize the hard way.
I do leave one of my handguns out in the open for home protection. They are kept well out of rech of my children. They are also never loaded. I always keep a loaded magazine/revolver speed loader ready for use. This is how it is now that my children can not reach my guns let alone know how to load them. As they get a little older and learn how to handle these guns, there will no longer be access to the guns or the ammo except for at night when I can be next to it. Gun safety can only be taught. It cant be enforved if you are not there to enforce it.

[Curtis]

And most important the parent MUST ACT LIKE A PARENT .

........and part of that is teaching by example.  I'll never forget the look on my son's face one time.  He was very young, but his gun-proofing was well along.  We were at my friend's house and my friend brought out his new semi-auto pistol.  At the time I was familiar with revolvers, but not pistols.  I complimented my friend on his pistol, but made no move to receive it from his hand.  He laid it on the coffee table and said "Go ahead, see how you like the way it handles." to which I replied "Not until you school me on its operation.".  That was when I noticed the look of confirmation on my son's face as he saw one of the lessons I had taught him played out before his eyes.  PRICELESS!!
 
Curtis