Quick deployment of a firearm for home defense

[Kaos]

I'm trying to fire through some of the best ways to keep a firearm secured for rapid deployment in the need for home defense.

During daylight hours when everyone is awake I always have my EDC on me which would serve as my primary during those hours. It's on me when I wake up, and when I leave the house and then secured properly in my car (also adherent to company policy) while at work, then when I leave it's back on me until bedtime.

Unfortunately here is where my problem begins. I keep it in it's holster close to the bed, but unsecured. If something goes "bump" in the night and im unsure of what it is I try to listen for a minute to make out the noise. If I even think it's someone trying to get into the house I get the lights on, hand my wife my phone and my EDC (she knows how to use it) and I get the AR out of the closet and the mag out of where I keep it (separate, hidden) chamber a round, make safe and start heading to my daughter's room (priority 1). Currently I'm keeping a trigger lock on the AR while it's stowed this way.

She's on the other side of the house, and no way to rearrange the rooms so she'd be in a better spot. This forces me to move across the house.

I'd like a balance of "more secure" and "easily deployable" for both the pistol and the carbine.

Can anyone share their experience/method?

I honestly considered moving my gun cabinet into my bedroom closet, which the wife won't like, but eh.

Any experiences with the wall mounted gun security things that I've seen before?

Thanks!

[LittleRedToyota]

i keep my AR chambered.

at night, it is beside my bed. when i'm not home, it is in the safe.

can't quite tell if that will work for you, but if you are keeping it unloaded during the day just because of the "always keep all guns unloaded" mantra, i would suggest rethinking that and determining for yourself if you really need to keep it unloaded during the day or if just putting it in the safe loaded will suffice (and allow you to keep it ready to go without having to unchamber and chamber rounds every day--which is, imho, more dangerous than just keeping it loaded).

i don't have kids, though. if i had kids, i might take a different approach.

[Kaos]

Originally Posted by LittleRedToyota

i keep my AR chambered.

at night, it is beside my bed. when i'm not home, it is in the safe.

can't quite tell if that will work for you, but if you are keeping it unloaded during the day just because of the "always keep all guns unloaded" mantra, i would suggest rethinking that and determining for yourself if you really need to keep it unloaded during the day or if just putting it in the safe loaded will suffice (and allow you to keep it ready to go without having to unchamber and chamber rounds every day--which is, imho, more dangerous than just keeping it loaded).

i don't have kids, though. if i had kids, i might take a different approach.

I just started the "separate mag" routine a month ago to see if it had any benefit. My handgun is always loaded (revolver). I have a redi mag on my AR-15 so I used to just keep the loaded mag in the RM and the bolt locked back so that "going ready" was a simple operation (remove mag, insert mag, let bolt fly).

I have only had 2 instances where I have actually chambered a round. One turned out to be kids messing around with m80's and the like who were hiding behind my house when the cops came around and knocked over my trash (which is what woke me up)...thinking it was the racoon I was trying to get for getting into my trash and wondering why the traps I set didn't catch it, I went to look. As soon as I opened the door I heard talking underneath me....I had only grabbed the AR as a source of light but as soon as I heard talking I chambered a round and they took off running.

Second time it was the damn raccoon a week later...I moved the trash up onto the deck to avoid the racoon getting into it and he's up there having a ball with it. I go to shoo him away and he doesn't go. So I popped the round out fo the chamber and tried to shake the gun at him thinking he'd take off...he didn't so I thought I'd swing it a little bid and the dumbass thing didn't even try to move and go smacked with my buttstock....raccoon...like the kids...hasn't been back since.

[Armed_in_Lancity]

For me I use my Ruger p345 for daytime and at night a simple shotgun. shotgun stays in bedroom closet. pistol in bed side holster. something goes bumb in the night i flip on lights and grab the shotty. wife stays in bed with the phone and the pistol.

[dgg9]

I strongly advise keeping a pair of electronic earmuffs next to whatever HD gun you're going to use (and esp if this is to be a .223). If you touch off an AR-15 and you're inside the same room, it's a pretty good chance you're losing some hearing, maybe permanently. Not to mention the amplification of quieter sounds is a tactical plus.

[Kaos]

Originally Posted by dgg9

I strongly advise keeping a pair of electronic earmuffs next to whatever HD gun you're going to use (and esp if this is to be a .223). If you touch off an AR-15 and you're inside the same room, it's a pretty good chance you're losing some hearing, maybe permanently. Not to mention the amplification of quieter sounds is a tactical plus.

Hadn't thought of that. Reccomend a pair?

[Helter]

For me, I think I'd focus more on delaying forced entry than on rapidly getting your AR into place.
Reinforcing your doors isn't too difficult. Anyone know how to prevent (or severely slow down) window entry?

[dgg9]

Originally Posted by Kaos

Hadn't thought of that. Reccomend a pair?

For this purpose, anything would work. Of course if you want to get a nice pair for this and also for training classes, IDPA, etc...

What I personally found (may not be true for others):

1. Peltors (I tried Tac 6 and Tac 7): didn't cover my ears very well; poor seal, letting ambient noise in. They would probably work ok for an outdoors training class, but I found the noise levels painful at my local indoor range.

2. Pro Ears: what I'm using now. Comfortable though bulky, good air seal, pretty good electronics. Bulky for rifle use -- interferes with the traditional cheek weld, but for squared-to-the-threat CQB shooting, that should be a non-factor. Ammplification is quick to turn on -- a simple rotary knob on each ear. One disadvantage of the ones I bought (many years ago) is they used a funky, non-typical battery type.

3. Sordin. Supposedly the top of the line. Because the Pro Ears were kind of bulky for rifle use, I treated myself to a pair of Supreme Pro X. It turns out Sordins are kind of small: even at full extension, they didn't cover the bottom of my ears. Annoying! Luckily I could exchange them for the headband model (which still haven't arrived in the mail). I will say that it takes a while to get the sound turned on -- the Sordins have a continuous-hold button that gradually raises the amplification. Also I'm guessing the headband model will take some doing to wrestle into position.

My advice therefore (if you want dual purpose muffs) is the Pro Ears. They're not ideal for classical rifle shooting positions, but they're fine for everything else. They turn on quickly and provide excellent ear seal for indoors. The Sordins might be superior for some people if they fit you, BUT they are slow to activate for HD. I'm sure other people (with vastly smaller heads) will have different results.

[Nic]

I get the lights on, hand my wife my phone and my EDC (she knows how to use it) and I get the AR out of the closet and the mag out of where I keep it (separate, hidden) chamber a round, make safe and start heading to my daughter's room (priority 1). Currently I'm keeping a trigger lock on the AR while it's stowed this way

That's a lot of steps. You are turning on lights, handing your wife stuff she should already have, running to the closet for your AR, taking the trigger lock off of AR, running for a magazine, chambering and running to your child's room... yikes.

You are correct, your child's safety is the priority. First, take steps ahead of time to secure the house/windows/doors making it much harder for an intruder to gain entry (alarm would be beneficial too). Secondly, have your wife buy herself a cel phone and gun of her own.

If an intruder gains entry, have your wife get her own phone and gun, and lock the bedroom door behind you as she calls 911. You run to your child's room with your EDC, and secure your child. Everyone baracades until the police arrive.

If you're determined to have the AR in your hands, and the wife doesn't like the idea of a large safe in the bedroom, put a Stack-on cabinet in the closet and keep your loaded AR in it. Just some suggestions...

[rikilii]

Right now, my only firearm is a S&W revolver. I have a similar problem: my daughter's room is on the other end of the house, potentially in my line of fire if I shoot at someone out in the hallway.

I keep my gun loaded in my nightstand drawer at night, and I unload it and relocate it to the closet during the day. I do not carry, as I work in NJ, and I don't really want my wife messing with it at this point until she has more training. I have ordered a small digital combo safe. When I get it, I will keep this either under the bed, or in the dresser drawer, and the gun will live in there, loaded at all times for reasonably quick access.

In any case, I have mulled over multiple plans. We have an alarm system, so it would be nearly impossible for a thug to get into our house without making a ton of noise.

My plan, and my hope is that this will give me enough time to secure my weapon, and take the wife (with phone, of course) across to our daughter's room. We will lock the door behind us, wife and daughter will go into the bathroom attached to her room (no access other than through the bedroom), preferably on the floor behind the bathtub, and I will assume a covered position and post up on the door until the police arrive, or the bad guy comes through the door (much to his virtually inevitable chagrin).

If I have less time to react for whatever reason, I would probably just tell the wife to get behind the bed and call the po-po, while I nudge open the bedroom door and aim the gun down into the foyer to prevent anyone from accessing the stairs (we have a 2-story foyer). Aiming down the stairs, there's virtually no chance I could hit my daughter through her bedroom wall if I had to fire on an intruder.