Nightstand Gun?

[cbzdel]

My criteria that I am looking for in a night stand gun. I am a huge fan of Rugers, but looking at their catalog it dosnt look like anything matches my criteria, maybe there is an older model that may work?

-9mm, for a higher capacity
-Something that I can mount a flashlight to, an underside picatinny rail?
-Something that can accept a laser in either a laser grip or guide rod preferably, rather not mount it to the flashlight as it will add more bulk.

Not interested in a 45 as I already have a 1911 but I bought it more for the "just to own one" factor hahah" But IMO its not a good nightstand weapon for myself. Also I already have a shotgun, in my rifle safe, the nightstand gun is just to get me to the safe in the closet where I keep all my ammo and guns

 

[blume357]

My personal opinion is forget the flash light and lazer idea.. Especially the flash light.

I was taught that you never ever point a gun at anyone or anything you don't plan to shoot. Walking around your home after something goes bump in the middle of the night pointing a gun with a light at anything is not my idea of safe.

With that said... Ruger P95.

 

[revhigh]

Agreed on all points Blume !! That's a good way to shoot your dog ... or worse ...

REV

 

[22/45 Fan]

The SR9 fits most of the criteria and I agree about the inadvisability of mounting a flashlight on the gun. You want to be able to point the light at anything, even things you don't want to shoot.

 

[aaronrb204]

If you are willing to trade off the ability to mount a light for laser grips then a P89 would fit the bill.

I would suggest you also look at the CZ75 platform. It comes in a variety of configurations and laser grips are available for models with single-sided safeties/decockers.

LaserMax is the only brand of guide rod lasers I know of and they are only made for Glock, Springfield XD, Sig, Beretta, Taurus, 1911 models (Colt, Kimber, etc), and S&W M&P. A guy I trust at an LGS makes a point that switching out an integral part for something electronic might not be the best idea. He has always been much more in favor of laser grips.

 

[Fox Mike]

If the purpose of the light is to find the 'bad guy' then keep in mind that he now has a target just behind that light that may not have yet gotten to his location. If I REALLY wanted to use a light I believe I would place it way off to the the side with my off hand and scan from there.

 

[Mike J]

I haven't ever really wanted a light on my gun but I would think having one and having a hand held light also could be useful.

 

[mike7mm08]

My bedside gun is a SR9. I have a unimax laser mounted on the rail. I have a super bright surefire handheld light. The lasermax is easy to flick on and off. I want to be able to keep it off if need be which is why I prefer the railmount opposed to the grip activated laser. The unimax I have is the green version. It is very bright. Once a threat is located with my sure fire the laser is bright enough for an aiming point as well as lighting up a room.

 

[gatorhugger]

I would skip the rail mounts, and laser beams. In the unlikely event you are awakened, with adrenaline flowing, it's going to be spray and pray with hands shaking like a leaf.
Keep it simple, a nice powerful flashlight and a P89 or whatever you have
faith in.

I want the maximum number of bullets and utter reliabilty in a house gun. The p89 fits that bill perfectly, high capacity, heavy enough that shaking hands won't affect it as much, and
I can't get mine to jam. It's the perfect home protection gun.

 

[blume357]

Interesting, even though the p-95 is my favorite and is what I suggested to cdzel, I keep a KPX-89 on my night stand.

 

[Quarterbore]

I disagree with the advise above. A weapon mounted light gives you options but it does not replace the need for a good hand held light. There may be a time you need a hand to work a phone, herd kids, or ??? while holding someone at gun point. With a hand held light only, how are you going to do that?

This is my primary HD pistol. It is a Glock 21 and in this photo it has an ITI M3 but I upgraded it several years ago to a new Surefire x300 LED. It has MED Orange/Green Night sights and the lasermax guide rod laser.

Plan for the worst case situation and imagine your power is cut and you have a group of people rushing into your home intent on killing you. Lights, lasers, and night sights all have potential advantages. As for a 9mm option, look at the Glock 19 as it will make a good CCW weapon.

 

[Spike12]

I keep a .45 Sig next to the bed. I don't worry about mounting a light (it has a rail and I have a light) because I keep enough light in the house to see what I'm doing. It also removes the darkness as a tool for the BG.

I have those small 4W 'night - light' plugin's in every room and in the hall at both levels. I also don't have to worry about plowing into a wall or a dog at night for the usual 2am head call or worry about a family member doing the same. The very, very small nudge in the electric bill is well justified.

With some careful light placement I can see clearly enough. My Sig also has night-sites. After trying those in the dark I consider them to be almost as important as having bullets in the gun.

I feel that having the light and the gun close to each other is important if you go that way. I think that it's human nature to whip around to a sound or something you see in the corner of your eye. If I whip my head around to check something out, I want my light and gun to be a *very* close behind. You might not have much time to bring them to bear. This is where the habit of keeping your finger off the trigger comes in.

Try walking around your house some night and find out how well you can see and move. Also check out dark spots and where to stand to check them..

 

[Quarterbore]

My brother went through a home invasion and the first thing they did, while my brother and his family were still sleeping, was to cut the power. If you are planning on your nightlights, I sure hope they are battery backup lights! My brother had got shot and my SIL got tossed from a moving car at highway speeds and suffered perminant brain damage and has never been able to return to work and likely never will. They were targeted for no other reason then my SIL worked at a bank and the drugged out gangbangers thought she had keys that would allow them access to the bank.

We have added nightlights that turn on as a flashlight throughout key zones in the house and the ones we really like are these:

https://www.conservationmart.com/p-235-sylvania-power-failure-light-72032.aspx

We bought them at Lowes or Home Depot....

You can't fight well in the dark and don't count on the electric working!

 

[Old Judge Creek]

Quarterbore... I'll be adding 3 of those power failure lights to my home ASAP. Many thanks for the tip.

As for my nightstand, there's a 45ACP Glock 30SF there. I does not wear a light... yet.

 

[Quarterbore]

I should add, in addition to tripping the breaker (the breaker was in a garage and they cut through the siding to get to it) they also cut the phone line. If you have a cell phone, make sure you get in the habit of charging it on your nightstand or dresser next to your bed. You can not count on the house phone working and a cell phone is a whole lot tougher to jam although there are ways they can do that too!

I figure that odds are good if anybody is going to target me or my home they will do it at night. We have an ADT security system, a video system, and I have primary and backup home defense guns and I live with the reality that tonight could be the night that someone breaks into my home. So far, nobody has come knocking but I am ready when they decide to come!

A video system hooked into your home TV via the cable lines is really nice as I can see what is going on on any side of our home from any TV in the house. The security system is nice as motion detectors and door and window alarms let you know what is opened or where anything moves. My home is setup like a fortress and perhaps I went over the top but when you see what can happen a couple thousand invested in security isn't such a bad investment.

Train to fight, fight to win as dead men never win!

 

[cbzdel]

Lots of good info here guys!

I was looking at the flashlight as more of a hey its a flashlight, not nessasary to see the bad guy but if you need a flashlight there is one and its attached to a protection device..

I think of the SHTF moments, might be in the house which is one thing because I know the layout and where all the possible hiding spots would be, but then add in a SHTF moment and somehow end up outside with my night stand gun only. Outside its pitch black dark out and I could use a flashlight.

Not only for chasing the bod guys but maybe also survival as well???

For when the zombies or aliens attack

The laser would be just to help me insure that I hit the target with with fear and adrenaline pumping through me. My wife and dog is all thats left in the house and they both sleep in the same room as me so not worried about shooting anything that movies if it goes bump in the night outside of the bedroom (to an extent, just sayin)

 

[tguil]

If you are outside with your nightstand gun and you shoot someone, you had better have a darn good attorney.

 

[Old Judge Creek]

Regardless, I truly believe the most important home defense asset is an alert dog that will tell you when something's not as it should be... and size can help, but it doesn't count. What I want most is to be made aware that something's afoot...

 

[gatorhugger]

I highly recommend dogs in and outside. They wake you up for false alarms every few days, but that's ok.
Overall I try not to get too paranoid, gimme a plain gun and a dog to hear everything when I am snoring. That's all I personally need.
Flashlights and strobes and video monitors and flashlights on guns and every outlet, that is for rich folk.
I'm just a gun and a dog. Hopefully I will live. :wink:

 

[cbzdel]

If you are outside with your nightstand gun and you shoot someone, you had better have a darn good attorney.

your not thinking SHTF moments.

Say an intruder kidnapped my wife and it outside with a gun/knife to her or something??

And I live in the woods so its dark outside, a flashlight would brighten up my target... That doesnt even need to happen outside it could happen inside in a dark unlit house...

I always think about what can happen when SHTF and then I plan for that..