Sleepwalking and the Nightstand Gun

[Guest nosnos]

I have recently started to think about this, and it's been on my mind enough lately that I have to ask and see if anyone else considers this in their nightstand gun placement.

How accessible do you keep your nightstand gun? In my house it's just me and my wife, no kids, and so I've kept the gun on top of my chest of drawers, loaded, in a soft, nylon holster, just to keep it covered. It's a Glock, which in my mind has always been a real plus, since in the middle of the night I don't want to be fiddling with a safety or whatnot. I know this is a point of a lot of argument, but that's not my question. I repeat, that's not the discussion I'm looking to have.

My question is, do you ever worry about movements you might make at night, while not being fully conscious. Lately I have been. I'm not a frequent sleepwalker, but I do on occasion mess with my alarm clock or move around a LOT on the bed (my wife will sometimes complain that I'll lift up on my elbows and kind of do some talking...). But in the past I HAVE done some weird stuff in my sleep. Walking around and moving things, etc... It really only happens when I am REALLY exhausted or stressed about something that might be happening the next day.

I know this makes me sound like a freak, but I think it's a reasonably common thing. Maybe not. So anyway, lately I've been keeping my gun in a drawer so that it isn't as accessible. The only down side? It isn't as accessible.

Does anyone else think about this?

[pops572]

I keep a Glock on my nightstand also, but I do not keep it loaded. There is a full magazine and an empty chamber. So if I am awakened out of a deep sleep i have to be at least aware enough to rack the slide before I start shooting.

[Guest sling]

Pops gave some pretty good advice... though i'm sure someone at some point may chime in about "omg no! You have to be ready for when the ninja's drop through the ceiling."

I'm a light sleeper... and it sucks. I hear ever bump and knock in the middle of the night to the point of where its annoying. The girlfriend hates it because i always end up waking her up. I'm concious when i wake up and dont sleepwalk. I keep my USP loaded with a round in the pipe hammer down. If you are having sleep walking problems you may want to see a doctor if it starts to worry you really bad. Just my .02

And nah, your not a freak for a common thing like sleep walking. When i was a kid i found out i was allergic to codeine (sp?) and it caused me to sleepwalk.

[Guest AeroEngrSoftDevMBA]

You are not a freak. I actually dream very vividly, with a tendency towards nightmares when I am stressed out or exhausted. Almost daily I'm able to remember my dream. The nightmares aren't too often any more but very common when I was in college and grad school. I move a lot in my sleep and I talk a lot in my sleep (to the point that sometimes my wife has to kick me to the couch). I'm a very deep sleeper.

In fact, just a couple nights ago I dreamed that someone was coming in the back door of the house. The one benefit of dreams is that you don't know your dreaming, so even though the situation isn't real, your emotional reactions are real. So it allows you to somewhat evaluate your situational state of mind. In this case I could feel the adrenaline being dumped into my bloodstream and I was shaking somewhat when I woke up. I'll admit I was scared.

I guess this exhibits somewhat the need for lots and lots of training. How people can be deadly accurate and the range but shoot like they've never held a gun before during the real deal.

Anyway, I have two safes with digital locks. One in the front of the house that ALWAYS stays closed and locked. The other one is near the back of the house and stays closed and locked EXCEPT for when I am in bed. It is actually just outside my bedroom on a high shelf (so my small kids have zero chance of getting to it).

For my purposes, keeping it slightly outside the bedroom ensures that I'll never touch it while dreaming, and that is important for the way I sleep. But keeping the safe open at night allows me to get to the gun quickly if I need to. I can open either safe and have gun in hand in less than a second when I'm awake, but I don't want to have any delays if I'm half asleep at 3 AM.

[Guest canynracer]

Mine is in my closet on the top shelf, the others are in the safe. I practice gettng out of bed to get it. With small kids, I do not leave it out. I have two dogs, and an alarm system... One is a watchdog of sorts, she will bark like crazy and look like she may bite (she nips, but doesnt latch on), the other is a German Shepherd that will pretty much be your first fight, and you better be good, cause she is... me and my 870 will be the final fight for ya.

Intrusion is something that the family and I discuss at nausium. Basically kids will stay in bed and wait for dad. They are told to scream loudly if there is someone IN their room so I know where to go FIRST, otherwise, they stay in their beds and wait for me to gather them up.

Unfortunatley this has been tested under stress, and critiqued. Luckily in both cases, it was a false alarm.

[Guest janwbrown616]

I keep a model 60 in a secret drawer on my night stand. It's out of sight in case the grandkids wonder in or a visitor or thief. It's loaded and I can get it pretty quickly. My wife has the same set up on her side of the bed. If it were my Glock it would still be loaded with one in the chamber and ready to go.

Just my own preference but an unloaded gun is a very well thought out and beautifully designed piece of junk....

[TGO David]

I've had two occasions where the dogs went sort of nuts and my wife thought someone might be trying to get into our house in the wee hours of the morning. Trust me when I say this: When the adrenaline hits, you will be wide awake and not groggily fumbling with your gun.

Which makes it hard to go back to sleep after you figure out that it was the wind scraping a branch across the side of the house, or a raccoon on the porch.

[Guest janwbrown616]

I'm only referring to the weapons you are depending on for IMMEDIATE self defense....

[Guest Mugster]

If you are a sleep walker, I suggest putting your guns in a safe. Thats one of the few things that will disallow military service or get you booted on a medical because its kinda dangerous.

[Guest Ghostrider]

Went to reform school with a guy that joined the Navy. He didn't know he was a sleepwalker (denial) but we all did.

He walked off a carrier deck, twice. The second time they sent him home, medical discharge. Guess they got a little pevish about having to turn the carrier and go find him.

I have vivid dreams some times, and talk in my sleep, but don't sleepwalk. I have kicked the wife and the dog in my sleep, but don't get out of bed.

I keep the commander by the bedside, loaded, hammer up and one in the pipe, safety on.

Upstairs I keep the XD fully ready on my desk. Lots of times I'll fall asleep on the couch up there.

Never had a problem... But don't have any little ones in the house (at least that have thumbs....)

[Guest superslacker]

I had a friend in college who would get up in the middle of the night at his girlfriends apartment and then walk over and urinate in her closet. He would then turn around and go back to bed without ever knowing. He probably did this at his place as well, but there was no one there to call him on it.

[Guest sling]

urinate in her closet.

hahaha.... codeine in cough syrup did this to me as a kid. Except... it was a closet.. it was the fruit drawer in the fridge.

[Guest AeroEngrSoftDevMBA]

Yeah I also knew a guy in college that would pee. But he would stand up on his bed and pee on his bed. That dude was a total drunk though. I mean, we all drank, and we all drank a lot, but this guy was out of our league.

[fizik]

^^^ROFLMAO!

Anyway, I keep a Glock under the pillow next to me, the one my head isn't on. Usually I keep it with a full mag but without one in the hole. I figure it takes no time to reach my arms under the pillow and rack it, then draw or fire from the bed as I'm drawing. Lately, due to break-ins in the neighborhood, I have been keeping it locked and loaded. I have been known to move around a lot in bed, unless I'm with the girl, . However, this has pretty much stopped in the last couple years, so I don't really worry. What does worry me is when I have to take a sleeping pill for insomnia, where the side effects can include sleepwalking and amnesia. On those nights, I leave the mag out of the gun but next to it, and keep a collapsible baton under my head.

[Marswolf]

While I don't think a Glock is a good gun to keep by your bed, I don't think a Glock is a good gun to keep anywhere.

If you are a serious sleepwalker, even in a safe won't prevent potential problems. Best thing is - frankly - not to worry about it. As mentioned above, the adrenalin will probably take care of the problem.

And get a couple of dogs to take care of warning about intruders. Makes for great sleep, even if you have serious enemies. The dogs are the alarm system, not the BG handlers.

[DaveTN]

I have two dogs

Ya know people laugh when you talk about dogs, but I have a Doberman that sleeps on the end of the bed. I have to smile when I hear people saying that they don’t want a long gun in case they have to go looking around the house. I take comfort in knowing that someone can’t get into my house without the dog hearing them; and I will know exactly were they are.

[Guest bazookazilla]

I sometimes used to wake up while dreaming and take 10-20 seconds to come back to reality. This hasn't happened to me for several years, but it was enough to make my wife and I think twice before I purchased my first gun. 2 handguns and one 18" Rem 870 later, I sleep very soundly with all of my guns in the bedroom closet. I figure if I need to get to them in a hurry they are accessible, and that will require me to be awake for a few seconds before actually putting my hands on them. We also now have a big German Shepherd that sleeps on the floor at the foot of the bed.

[Guest Mugster]

While I don't think a Glock is a good gun to keep by your bed, I don't think a Glock is a good gun to keep anywhere.

If you are a serious sleepwalker, even in a safe won't prevent potential problems. Best thing is - frankly - not to worry about it. As mentioned above, the adrenalin will probably take care of the problem.

And get a couple of dogs to take care of warning about intruders. Makes for great sleep, even if you have serious enemies. The dogs are the alarm system, not the BG handlers.

I disagree. Getting in to a dial safe is not rocket science. However, I believe you would have to be awake to do it.

Thats one reason why the military has dial safes for pistols and locked arms rooms. Keeps people from making mistakes.

[Guest AeroEngrSoftDevMBA]

... unless I'm with the girl, . However, this has pretty much stopped in the last couple years, ...

I'll resist the obvious joke here and let the quote speak for itself, but only because I don't know you. If one of my close buddies said this though, I'd be all over it.

P.S. Yes, I am taking it out of context.

[fizik]

I'll resist the obvious joke here and let the quote speak for itself, but only because I don't know you. If one of my close buddies said this though, I'd be all over it.

P.S. Yes, I am taking it out of context.

gaaahhhh, wow that one slipped right by me lol Thanks for pointing that out, i got a great laugh.

and yeah, any one of my friends would have ridiculed me mercilessly, as I would do to them.

[tn hp]

This has been an interesting thread and I posted a reply a couple of days ago, but due to a power surge, it got lost in "never-never" land. Anyway, it went something like this:

My dad was a combat wounded vet during WWII and fought in the P.T.O.. He had very vivid dreams where he would walk, talk and respond to verbal communication. My mother told several stories about him creeping around the bedroom, like he was holding his M1, on patrol. She would ask him what he was doing and he would challenge her for "the password". However, he always woke up on the second communication and get back in bed.

He did tackle and destroy a rocking chair one night. He "thought" it was a Japaneese soldier sneeking into his fox hole. During this time period, 1950-60's, he kept a loaded shotgun in the closet and later, in the 80's and 90's, a loaded S&W in a drawer. He never, during all of those horrific dreams, armed himself with a real weapon or harmed anyone, except the rocking chair.

As a medical doctor, he stated that most all sleep walkers awake when their dreams turn to physical manisfestation of mechanical items, like trying to open a door knob, or feeling the cool night air. However, we have all seen those videos about those with eating disorders. These folks march into the kitchen, open the fridge and eat something, if not everything for a shot period of time and then go back to bed.

If your really concerned about this, go see you family doctor. He or she may them refer you to a specialist. This may be alot of trouble, but at least you will get a professional opinion. In the meantime, take whatever measures that you feel are reasonable and safe for you and your family.

[Kano]

I know this makes me sound like a freak, but I think it's a reasonably common thing. Maybe not. So anyway, lately I've been keeping my gun in a drawer so that it isn't as accessible. The only down side? It isn't as accessible.

Does anyone else think about this?

You sound HONEST and not a freak at all ..everyone is nuts in one way or another ...that makes us human....

I have 5 Dogs in my house ..2 BANDOGS 1 AKBASH.... &( 2 RESCUES both around 65 pounds.) The Akbash is 145 pounds will hear a pin drop and barks loud ..I mean loud he is 35" at the withers (shoulders) My male Bandog is 140 pounds ..his grandfather Curly was on Fear Factor 2 times ....my female Bandog is 118 pounds this is her dad Kano

I kept a Nighthawk Dominator near my bed ... if anyone gets buy my dogs I will Finish whats left

Checkout Curly on Fear Factor ..Not the German Shepherd ..the other dog

Curly...With no bite suit you would be dead meat...

[Guest BigJ45]

I have never done any sleepwalking (hell I'm too lazy to walk when I'm awake) but I did relocate my home defense weapon after the phone rang in the middle of the night and I answered my pistol.

Edited August 20, 2008 by BigJ45
I forgot how to spell

[Kano]

I have never done any sleepwalking (hell I'm too lazy to walk when I'm awake) but I did relocate my home defense weapon after the phone rang in the middle of the night and I awnsered my pistol.

:D:D

[shaftbass]

I never used to think about it until one time a couple years ago my girlfriend at the time told me that after she called me the night before (which I don't remember answering) I called her back and had a short conversation of rambling (which I don't remember at all). I checked my phone and sure enough there were two calls, one in and one out, lasting a few minutes each. I didn't remember either one, not even a hint.

That scared me enough to not keep my gun within arm's reach during the night. Instead it's over on the dresser.. I'd have to walk over to it. I've never sleepwalked that I know of. No one has ever said they've seen me sleepwalk.