I’m a bit of a wild sleeper and tend to knock things off of my nightstand. For that reason, I also have mine in a quick access biometric safe. I would be interested to know more from someone that has the legal experience to the truth about this suggestion. I understand the idea behind it, but I also feel that if I were in a situation where I needed to use my firearm, I will be pretty wide awake at that point.
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A couple of things that people could do before retiring for the night:
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Lock your bedroom door (unless you have children that would want access your room at night). Locking your bedroom door gives you some extra time to get yourself situated in case you need to move to another room to secure family.
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Bring your vehicle FOB and place it on your nightstand. If there is a break-in, among doing other things like dialing “911”, waking yourself completely before touching your firearm and grabbing a flashlight, just depress the panic alarm on your vehicle FOB. That alarm may just be enough to draw attention to your home and ward off the intruders.
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I have never thought of the FOB idea, but that is a great option! Almost works as a security alarm without needing to buy one.
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Bad advice! An intruder in your house is reason enough to defend yourself and family. Wasting time running around looking for your firearm is stupid and might get you killed. If you need it, you’ll need it fast. That kind of foolish advice is like the one about not mixing different types of Ammo in your mag because it will make you seem more aggressive .
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I like the FOB idea. Never thought of it. As for the night stand. I would think that if I am awake enough to operate the table top safe, then I am awake enough to understand that an intruder represents a threat.
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And while you’re attempting to cross the room, and dying in the attempt…
I recall a story (possibly) apocryphal, of a Marine Vietnam combat Veteran being awakened by the duty officer - a fresh-minted ‘butterbar’ - putting a hand on his shoulder and attempting to shake him awake. Next thing he knew, he was across the room with a broken jaw and the Corporal was wide awake, standing next to his rack. There was no prosecution, the CO ruled that the Lieutenant should have known a combat Veteran would awaken instantly, for over a year his life had depended on it.
The prosecutor is going to say and do anything to convict, otherwise he wouldn’t have taken it to trial, but what he actually knows is irrelevant, it’s what he can get a jury to believe.
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As long as the intruder filled out the proper forms before breaking into where I live, I see no reason not to protect myself. If I wander in the street and get hit by a car? Its now the drivers fault that he hit me?
Next time,… send me a letter in advance that you are going to break in my home on such and such date. That way I will not shoot you. That’s only fair. Show the judge the letter.
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@Gene31 Welcome to the community. Sarcasm welcome. 
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Are you kidding? A stranger in your bedroom in the middle of the night? You shoot the intruder. The fact that a prosecutor would be after the shooter doesn’t even make sense. This just happened in my rural county. I’ll take my chances.
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My wife’s strange would that cause a problem?
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My wife and I are 83. We don’t move as well as we used to…especially in a darkened room.
On my nightstand.
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Looks to me like an intruder would be screwed. Not you.
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Why, as we remember from this man’s perspective, to make it a fair fight, of course [sarcasm intended]…
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I would not keep a handgun in condition 1 on my nightstand (round in the chamber). My husband has 2 loaded in the biometric nightstand safe, but they are not in condition 1.
The reasoning is sound. When you are startled awake, you are not thinking clearly enough to discern what is a threat and what is not a threat. Keeping a loaded anything with one in the chamber is a nightmare waiting to happen. Our CC instructor told us the story of a guy coming home early from deployment and wanting to surprise his wife…and he ended up getting shot because of this very issue. Never keep it ready to fire.
On top of that, in many states, it is illegal to keep a firearm in such a condition or place where a minor could have access to it and harm themselves or someone else.
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He was able to hit the target? Sounds awake enough to me!
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I don’t know of any States that ban storing your firearms in condition 1 maybe some cities?
Some states/towns require that children don’t have access to a firearm. Even if they don’t it is a good idea to store firearms that aren’t under your direct control in a safe when children are present.
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere I have a young son so my firearm is in a quick access safe and it has a trigger guard on it attached to the safe so if I am reaching for it in a hurry or while struggling with a home invader I cannot accidentally pull the trigger. By the time I punch in the code I am awake enough for my training and practice to allow me to safely handle a firearm.
The situation you describe of the wife shooting her husband would almost certainly not have been prevented if the gun was stored without a round in a chamber. She would have chambered the round after pulling the gun out of the safe anyways. I have never heard of anyone who trains waiting until you are face to face with a home invader before loading your gun.
Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. Know your target and what lies beyond. Maybe we should add not surprising your spouse in the middle of the night who is home alone with a firearm for protection. But the first two rules would have prevented that horrible tragedy.
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North Carolina for one. It is a misdemeanor to leave a firearm out where a minor can access it. They have to be stored out of the reach of minors or locked away.
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Also - having to rack a round would have given the spouse enough time to make his identity known, and yeah - don’t surprise your spouse in the middle of the night after being gone.
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And if it wasn’t her spouse, racking a round might have given the home invader enough time to end her life.
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My wife accuses me of being crazy. I’m 69 and much too old to race to a weapon in case of break-in. I carry even when watching tv. We live in a low crime area. But, we are surrounded on three sides by vacant lots. Shoulda Coulda Woulda
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