Where is your gun when it's not strapped to your hip

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I keep one, with a magazine and none in the pipe, and a spare magazine in the center console of each of my 3 autos. When I travel in my class B motorhome I take one from two of the autos and keep one up front on the passenger seat and one in the rear, under a pillow on the bed. The third I either lock in the car or move to a hiding place in the house. That accounts for 3 guns.

I also keep one, with a magazine and none in the pipe, and a spare magazine in the bottom drawer of the night stand next to my bed. (I live alone... no spouse or kids, and seldom have young children in my house) I keep a revolver in a top cabinet, over the refrigerator... all chambers loaded. The gun is kept in a tupperware bowl on the highest shelf. That's 2 more.

I keep two revolvers in a safe. Once cleaned and taken to the local range for fam-firing, bothwill go back into the safe. I may distribute one to the garage and the other to my basement if I find a suitable place to hide them. That's the final two.

On the rare occassions when I expect house guests with minor children I lock all vehicles, and temporarily move the one from my night stand to the safe until my visitors leave.

I also make sure that my more frequent adult visitors and vehicle passengers know that I keep handguns in both my home and vehicles, and that I frequently conceal carry. I let adult relatives with small children know that guns are in my house and not to let them roam around until I have a chance to secure the ones in accessible places. Especially if they drop by unannounced.

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I keep it on my computer table, then on my nightstand while I sleep. I have no kids and no kids are ever over so it pretty much sits out in the open unless it's on me.

I like to have quick easy access to it

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No spouse, no kids . . . besides guns locked in the safe, they tend to accumulate here and there around the house. Mostly they're in cases, unloaded. I don't think it's a good idea (as in unsafe) to keep guns loaded. Also, loaded, cocked, locked, loaded mags puts springs under compression. I don't think keeping springs under compression is a good idea.

I'm not in a "war zone." I don't feel compelled to stow a gun on the vanity while I'm in the shower. (I've seen this posted in other forums.)

A loaded gun unattended in the house is dangerous, particularly with small children. (Let's cite the recent case where the grandchild got grandma's gun out of the purse in the shopping cart and shot herself.)

If you're asleep, the gun is "unattended" -- even if it's under your pillow. "Standing guard" means being alert and awake -- ask any Marine about that one. You can't sleep and be on guard duty. If the gun is loaded you're "on guard duty."

And in that vein, I keep ammo available for the "defense guns" (No kids, no spouse). Mostly I want to ensure I'm awake and alert enough to load a firearm before I get a loaded one in my hand.

But then I don't live in a "war zone" and no one is going to come suddenly crashing into my house. I think organizing your everyday life around being on the edge of "Condition I" most of the time gnaws away at important "quality of life" issues.

Ayoob and others all stress that your personal defense strategy is unique, and that it should consist of multiple strategies and fail-safe options.

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Well I pack most of the time, but if its in the truck it is in a vest pocket i leave around my drivers seat. Even if i do not have it on I can access the pocket while driving. I also keep a backup 38 behind my secound seat. At night I have it loaded and in my bottom pillow case. Can put my hand right on it. Full mag not chambered. Also a 380 auto in a small safe next to my bed. My regular carry is a 9mm sw sigma.

One time got up to hit the shower and my wife started making the bed she likes to throw the pillows on the floor. Clunk. Thus I never keep one chambered in bed.

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SCOTUS 07-290 wrote:

Also, loaded, cocked, locked, loaded mags puts springs under compression. I don't think keeping springs under compression is a good idea.

....

If you're asleep, the gun is "unattended" -- even if it's under your pillow. "Standing guard" means being alert and awake -- ask any Marine about that one. You can't sleep and be on guard duty. If the gun is loaded you're "on guard duty."

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A properly designed magazine spring will not be affected by leaving it loaded. In fact, it will put more wear onto it by loading and unloading it. Springs do not weaken by simply being compressed or stretched so long as they are not over-compressed or over-streched, and assuming quality magazines they would not design the spring to be overcompressed simply by having a full magazine. Also, it may not be good for the ammunition to chamber it repeatedly in a semi-auto.

As for the other comment, if I followed that procedure every time I took a nap I would be doing a lot of loading and unloading every day.

The only people around me I would trust with my guns as much as myself (no children) and thus I do not see any safety concern. I'm not too worried about neighbors busting into my house and taking the gun from the table 2 feet away from my head without me noticing. As I'm not subject to arbitrary military procedures I do not need to worry about unloading my gun every time I decide that I want to be unconscious.

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SCOTUS 07-290 wrote:

...But then I don't live in a "war zone" and no one is going to come suddenly crashing into my house...

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And since you're not in a "war zone", no one is going to suddenly try to hijack your car, or take your wallet at gun point, or hide a long gun under their clothes, walk into a mall, and start shooting innocent people. None of that would EVER happen here! This isn't a "war zone"!

:?

Complacency is much more deadly than any firearm. Ask any Marine about that one (since you like citing us). I don't expect anything bad to happen today. I'm not expecting someone to kick my door in as I sit here and type this. If I WAS expecting that, I'd have furniture piled in front of the door, the cops on the way, and my shotgun at the ready. No, I'm not expecting anything, but I'm not going to blatantly deny the possibility, either. So I keep a loaded, chambered handgun in the house, just in case.

And as far as quality of life goes? Iam not armedbecause I am afraid. Rather, I am not afraid, because I am armed.

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Im confused...why isn't my gun on my hip? :shock:

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when my beretta isn't in its holster and on my hip..(which isn't that often) it's normally within acouple of feet from my hands..

at night when i'm sleeping,it's laying all comfy on the bed next to my pillow..full mag with one in the pipe..

as far as when i'm driving..it has to come out of holster because bottom of grip hits seat back,so it comes out of holster and goes between drivers seat and center console for now(nice and secure)..working on taking the uncle mikes paddle holster and mounting it somewhere on the dash(or under)

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:shock: one of my 1911's is either on my hip, in my truck while at work, or inthe dresser drawer 2 feet from my bed at reaching height. always cocked and locked with round in chamber. the rest of the weapons are in the safe. the same goes for the wife. no small children, our youngest is 21, and doors locked at all times. if someone comes to the door, my wife goes to the door with gun in hand behind back until she is sure of who it is. never had any problems here but not willing to either.

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cwolfs69 wrote:

...if someone comes to the door, my wife goes to the door with gun in hand behind back until she is sure of who it is....

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Smartest woman (wife) i've ever heard of.

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cwolfs69 wrote:

...if someone comes to the door, my wife goes to the door with gun in hand behind back until she is sure of who it is...

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We just had an Issue out here in downtown SLC about a year or so ago: a woman walked out to her front porch to smoke her morning cig. No 2 puffs into it, she had a knife to her throat husband went to work, and the guy had her step back inside so he could rape her...

...i dont think they found him yet.

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During waking hours around the house: high shelf in the LR closet.

During sleeping hours: GunVault (tm) electronic push button personal gun safe by the bed

I have a tottler running around.

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SA XD45 in the center console of my truck with 2 spare mags, one in the pipe

SA TRP Operator Tactical is either carried when I'm awake, or on the nightstand next to three spare mags and a Surefire light and always cocked and locked.

12ga is by the bed between the bed and nightstand, 5 rounds plus one in the pipe 00, safety on.

Kimber Ultra CDPII either carried or in the nightstand drawer, cocked and locked.

AR15 in my office in my garage, also loaded and ready.

Smith & Wesson SW9V in the drawer of my desk, mag loaded but no round chambered.

Yes I do have one child in the house, (14) but he has been taught gun safety and I trust him around my guns.

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Re: OP....

Who's asking? :lol:

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I have two kids. An almost 5 y.o. girl and 15 month old son. My daughter started firearms safety when she was about 4 (I started her when she demonstrated the dexterity to operate a tool like a handgun). I did the corneredcat.com technique and found it has worked very well. If my daughter wants to see a gun she just asks me, we go through the safety drill and the rules and she may handle an unloaded firearm.

That being said I can never ever be too careful so at this point I keep my self defence pistol in a Gun Vault next to the bed when not on my hip. I also have an AR under the bed and a 50 rnd mag for it also in the gun vault.

Prior to kids I just left a pistol on the nightstand and a shotty with 00 locked and loaded next to the bed.