I have one on my nightstand, two in the drawer, a shotgun leaning on the headboard, and two ARs within reach against the wall. I say screw the prosecutor.
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I have insomnia, so I am always awake! LOL! And I always keep it in mmy drawer so that I consider a one step precaution that must be overcome.
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Hey mike… sounds good, but the surviving defensive shooter sets the legal narrative. Scurrying around a dimly lit room to retrieve a firearm while under attack is not the best advice. Just my opinion, we keep two weapons in immediate reach while sleeping and one no more than twenty five feet in any room. Immediate access equals higher survivability. But thankX for your input… BoB. ¥
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i have the Hornady RAPiD Gun Safe With RFID Instant Access For Guns, so it takes an awake person to get my gun, by that time I can decide to shoot the threat or not.
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Too many variables, but:
Put it where you can access it quickly.
Be consistent where and how you place it.
Be consistent with its condition: chambered, locked/unlocked, cocked/uncocked.
Don’t place it where intruder can see it before you can get to it.
Don’t depend on meds for sleep.
Practice.
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I keep a “Judge” attached to my mattress. It is covered by the covers and when I sit up it is at my right hand. I keep it loaded with buck shot. I don’t want to have to get past and intruder to get to my gun!!!
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I used to keep mine in the nightstand drawer next to the bed until our granddaughter and her husband and 5-year-old daughter moved in with us 2 years ago. My great-granddaughter has similar age kids in and out all the time, so I bought a biometric safe that works off both my index fingerprint and a 4 button combination. It fits comfortably on top of the nightstand, and I can open it without getting out of bed. It holds both my Glock 17 w/Crimson Trace laser and my EDC, a Sig P938, plus an extra mag for the Sig. I can just about operate the 4 button combo in my sleep if the fingerprint doesn’t register on the first try.
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No I have mine on shelf in closet.gives me a few seconds to get my bearings.just 2ft a way, don’t want to shoot love one when half awake.
I’m not sure if CA as a whole requires that you store your guns but several counties require it. L.A. is one of the worst cities and counties, with crime continually rising. They require you to lock up your guns. Makes a lot of sense.
I thought CA required guns be locked when kids are present. Have heard a lot of proposals about forcing people to lock guns and ammo in separate containers but hadn’t heard of them being passed yet.
Waiting for the prosecution’s argument, “if you had time to open your safe and get your gun, you had time to escape.”
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Waiting for California requiring biometric safes with two-factor authentication. “To open, please check your phone for your 4-digit access code.” 
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Very good points. I am my mother’s caregiver and my father is sometimes hard of hearing. Mother had an aneurism and subsequent open~heart surgery, so she’s not the same person she was prior to that surgery. She has trouble even cooking, so any activity is out of the question. She rarely goes downstairs because she tires out so quickly. Father sometimes leaves doors unlocked but he’s still amazingly real active outdoors and at the gym. They’re both in their early to mid 80s. I feel like I’m the only person fully aware of my immediate surroundings, and because we already experienced an attempted home invasion (which most likely led to my mother’s aneurism) and two later attempted burglaries also while home, I may seem paranoid but I’m not. I sometimes drive with all the car’s windows down because I don’t like air conditioning. I know there’s a level of risk involved when doing that but I still live in a very safe area. Nevertheless, all my self defense tools are loaded, and 3 of them are next to me. One is on a bench on my left; another is on my bed on the right side but up against a pillow that’s wedged between the mattress and wall; and the other one is also between the wall and mattress but downward. It’s been like that for years and I sleep very comfortably. The only last close call we had was last week when a homeless hoodlum somehow made it up into our neighborhood. It’s tough to walk all the way up here and it would be pointless for anyone homeless to remain here. Well earlier that day that hoodlum chased down an Asian family around the park who just ignored him as he rambled on in his hatred for them. Later that night he was still loitering around but this time laying on a section of the park’s grass that’s across us. I was the only one that happened to see him cross the street discreetly and finally into the front yard of the neighbors across our street. He was well hidden because of a large hedge that covers most of the view of the front yard from the street. That family has a young daughter and they were oblivious to what was happening. I was worried that he might eventually try to break into their home. When the sheriff finally arrived they almost missed that hoodlum’s location. My father had to point his location out with hand signs. The deputy cautiously tapped the hoodlum on the shoulder but he pretended to be asleep. When he finally responded he began cursing the deputy and he began making a scene. He got up and walked up to the front of the SUV and began daring the deputy to shoot him. Another sheriff arrived and they finally arrested him. The guy was cursing and threatening. This is something that is extremely rare to see here. This just doesn’t happen in our neighborhood or even in this city. It’s still considered a bedroom community. I know this is long but I’m trying to make a point. Now imagine if none of us would have seen that guy when he hid in that neighbor’s front yard. For all we know, he could have targeted us. Because of my father’s sometimes bad habit of leaving the front door unlocked, that guy could have easily gotten into our house through that same door. This was not late at night, which is when I usually check the doors before going to bed. In fact, all the incidents that occurred at our home, except for the most recent one, happened during nice, peaceful sunny weekdays. That guy in the last incident was either drunk or on drugs, according to his erratic behavior and a small bag in his hand that he was walking around with during the day. The sheriff that was writing the report even told him to shut up and mentioned something about being high. Someone on drugs will be more of a threat than someone who’s not. Their thinking is distorted, which is even more of a reason for me to have my guns loaded. There’s no guarantee anywhere that you’ll be safe. A few months ago a man got his $500,000 watch stolen in the middle of the day at a Rodeo Drive cafe in the heart of Beverly Hills. I saw brief video footage of the crime in progress. It happened so fast that nobody had time to react or even know what was happening. The guy with the watch resisted, which caused the criminals to indiscriminately shoot innocent bystanders. These to me are reminders that I need to be prepared as best as I can, which means having my guns in condition 0.
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I’ve mostly woken up in an alert state, but sometimes, especially if I was in deep REM sleep, it takes a few moments to get oriented. I might’ve been dreaming and I need a few seconds to separate out what was the dream and what wasn’t. Like thinking I heard one of my dogs bark. I wake up and listen - nothing.
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Yes, when there are others in the house it is in the safe!
After about 12 years as somewhat more relaxed empty nesters, i too have had to revamp my safety protocols due to children with children returning home. I now keep my “night stand gun” in a specially adapted level 3 holster on top of my hi-boy armoire which is two steps from bed. I figure since i wear a BPAP at night i am not going to wake up to anything short of the dog or my light sleeping wife beating on my back anyway. So those two steps should not be much of a problem.
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I don’t keep my gun more than a half arm length away from me on the night stand which is right next to the bed because of my military service I sleep very lite and when I open my eyes I’m wide awake and ready for what ever I need to do, I have trained extensively for this type of situation 
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I keep my guns in a quick-access safe in the closet.
My AR is hidden behind a bunch of stuff on the floor.
I keep a very sharp machete between the bed and the nightstand.
If someone were to break in, my wife would hear it long before I would and it takes forever for me to wake up.
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