Bedside holsters are a great system if you don’t have curious little toddlers running around the house (I don’t). When you go to sleep at night your weapon is secured within reach in the exact same spot each and every time. Your hand cannon won’t get knocked off of your nightstand when you attempt to hit the snooze button on your alarm clock and won’t end up on the floor accidentally because you tried to sleep with it under your pillow. Additionally it’s also more accessible than if it were in a drawer, you just lean over the side of your bed and wallah, pistola at your service.
Driekie Croucamp, 39, was woken by a noise and initially thought her boyfriend, Craven Coetzee, was just making food in the kitchen. But when she heard it again, she decided to investigate. That’s when she went into the hallway and saw a man coming up the stairs.
‘I think I screamed “freeze!” and all of a sudden he came at me with a knife,’
The holster I selected was an old Don Hume belt holster, one I hadn’t used in a few years. Everything else is pictured above with the exception of the spare mag holder, which was amazingly easy to come up with without utilizing one of my actual dedicated mag holders.
As you can imagine, step 1 involved eye protection, a saw, and loud noises. I’m pretty sure I cut the board into a 36 inch section for the brace and an 18 inch section for the face plate. Once that was complete I used some small wood screws and brackets to secure the two boards together into the shape of a T.
The next step was to place the holster, spare mag holder and flashlight on the belt and test fit it to the face plate. This really helped me establish how much spacing I wanted between each item. I also made sure to place the holster on the far left, the reason being if I swung my right hand down to grab it I didn’t want anything to impede that movement.
At this point you might be wondering about my spare mag holder, it’s simply one of the speed loaders that Glock includes with the purchase of every pistol (which I have never used).
The speed loader is secured by heavy duty velcro, with one portion wrapped completely around the belt and the other stuck to the back of the speed loader. I have tested this for 5 days and the weight of a fully loaded magazine does not cause it to break loose.
Once everything was lined up properly I took a few more wood screws and secured the belt to the face plate. I also cut the belt and used a lighter to burn the ends so they would not fray in the future. I guess it should go without mentioning but you really need to use a sturdy belt for this project, that leather braided belt from the 1990’s (which you used to fold over itself and tuck in) probably should stay in the back of your closet.
What you see above is the finished project prior to going up to the bedroom for installation. This entire project took me about 20 minutes, was fun to complete and saved me quite a few dollars. It did earn me a couple strange looks from my wife and daughter, but I’d consider that par for the course. On a final note I should mention that I do have an LED 2 Cell Maglight near my bed which would be my primary should the need arise, but the little guy in the holster still makes a great backup.
Never leave a weapon unattended in this system and use your best judgement…but personally I would not utilize this setup if I had curious little kids running around in my home.
This article was first posted on Prepper Resources.
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It appears that you occupy the right side of the bed and you possibly sleep on your left side – LOL
I like the setup and will craft one similar for my bedside pistol. I will change the Maglite setup by utilizing a screw mounted spring clip like the old broom handle spring clips. I want my Maglite pointed in the downward position to facilitate instant use by my left hand..
Thanks for the tip.
Ron H
Good thought.
I learned a while back that it is very likely that standoffs could occur in many instances. The former soldier advised keeping more ammo handy. I now keep a large cammo fanny pack filled with: 6 clips filled with hollow point, 300+ rounds of loose 9mm target rounds, holster, 1200 lumen light, 4 sets of flex cuffs preset up- on a clip on my night table. Before I go to bed I open the gun safe next to the bed and put the loaded Glock in the holster. I have practiced over 50 times putting on the holster on and doing mock reenactments. My bedroom is also set up as a safe room and my kids have a secret way of getting into my room with out having to go into the hallway…. paranoid??? Nope… Prepared!!!
No matter how you set this up, I don’t think it’s all that critical how it is setup particularly if you tend to move and roll over a lot when sleeping. With some kind of alarm or warning (locked door, dog, silent alarm, floor mat that crinkles when stepped on, etc.) it’s beneficial to have your tools at hand.
Even for a child or person who can not, does not or even should not, have a pistol, having quick access to a flashlight provides safety and comfort. It helps avoid stumbling or bumping into things or stepping on anything. I began sleeping with a flashlight next to my pillow or on the nightstand years ago. Nightlights are good, but they can burn out or maybe you flashlight goes dead. If I think someone is lurking outside, I can light up the outside with one of these new super bright lights they make.
I can see having medicine, bottled water or tissues. And my cell phone and backup battery for quick communication. And if not a pistol, maybe a taser, stun gun, a collapsible baton or even a knife.
As someone who wakes up easily due to noise, cars driving by, getting cold or warm, being disturbed by the dogs, stuffy nose or whatever, getting up in the dark is one thing, but having items close at hand beats stumbling in the dark trying to find things. I really like this project.