Weird occurence last night... advice needed

[CountryBoy19]

I'm not known to sleep walk or anything of the sort but it seems that I may be starting, sort of.

Last night, apparently, while still lying in bed asleep, I picked up my bedside gun, pointed it in a safe direction and dropped the mag out. I was starting to rack the slide to clear the chamber when my wife asked what was wrong. Being unconscious and confused I didn't respond but I stopped what I was doing. She once again asked what I was doing. At that point I woke up, still slightly confused, and replied that I have no idea what I'm doing. Which was the truth, I had absolutely no idea why I had retrieved my bedside gun and started to clear it in my sleep. She said she didn't sleep the rest of the night because she was petrified that I would do it again only I would do the opposite of clearing it.

I now don't know what to do. My trust in myself has been shaken, and my wife's trust for me to not do stupid things in my sleep is now shaken.

Should I get tested for sleeping disorders? Make the gun more inaccessible? What would you do?

This is a big deal for me because I'm a strong believer in having a bedside gun for those "bumps in the night".



ETA, if it helps any, last night we stayed up much later than usual watching Prison Break on Netflix. Could this have contributed in some way?

 

[SmileDocHill]

Man, that is a tough one! Scary stuff indeed. The dilemma that instantly comes to mind for me is that if you get something like a Gun vault it is good that you need a second or 2 to hit the buttons but if you get good at it you will likely be able to do that in your sleep also. I mean if you are able to clear your weapon while asleep the "muscle memory" involved in getting the gun out of a gun Vault isn't going to be any more challenging.
BTW I'm talking about one of these only because it is what I have experience with.
Walmart.com: GunVault Mini Storage Vault: Hunting

 

[SmileDocHill]

You could put your gun in a holster and somehow hook it up to a hacked shocking device so it gives you a jolt when it comes out of the holster (before the trigger is accessible of course). There are several devices that could easily be hacked to serve this purpose, like the dog collar from an invisible fence, the barking collar for dogs or a cheap mild stun gun like MerCop uses in his training courses.

Of course I'm mostly joking but I have to say if I were prone to have this happen I would figure out something quick. This could become a source of marital stress.

 

[EdC]

No sleep meds, right? Just wanted to rule that out.

My advice? Put the gun away for awhile 'til you get this sorted out. Maybe wife can take over, meanwhile.

 

[SmileDocHill]

No sleep meds, right? Just wanted to rule that out.

My advice? Put the gun away for awhile 'til you get this sorted out. Maybe wife can take over, meanwhile.

Wow, this seems spot on advice to me. Especially the wife taking over thing. If she isn't comfortable using it then maybe have it so she has access to it and has to get it for you so she can confirm you are actually awake. If you hear the bump you would have to wake her to get the gun.

 

[pinshooter45]

Not sure what to tell you, since it's just the first occurance. Late night combined with an action movie, maybe nothing. If you live in a quiet are where danger is not ever present. Move the weapon to a diferent location that's still handy, while contemplating Doc's advice. If you live where I live I'd keep it on the night stand. We had to call the cops on a big domestic fight two houses down from me yesterday...It was getting loud and scary! Four units showed up! I keep my 1911 ready at all times now. I used to just keep my .32acp avalable so I could get to my other weapons, but no more!

 

[Prometheus]

No sleep meds, right? Just wanted to rule that out.

My advice? Put the gun away for awhile 'til you get this sorted out. Maybe wife can take over, meanwhile.

That's huge.

Also, if you were really exhausted, stressed and sleep deprived , things like this can happen.

In the mean time, place the unloaded gun in the night stand and the magazine in mag holder next to it. Or put the unloaded gun under the mattress and mag in a holder in the night stand.

This may make you more aware of what you are doing/dreaming while you sleep and your mind may not let you fall that deeply asleep again.

 

[buford t justice]

My nephew started sleep walking while on a medication and when the prescription ran out the sleep walking ended.

 

[Quad]

Man, that is a tough one! Scary stuff indeed. The dilemma that instantly comes to mind for me is that if you get something like a Gun vault it is good that you need a second or 2 to hit the buttons but if you get good at it you will likely be able to do that in your sleep also. I mean if you are able to clear your weapon while asleep the "muscle memory" involved in getting the gun out of a gun Vault isn't going to be any more challenging.
BTW I'm talking about one of these only because it is what I have experience with.
Walmart.com: GunVault Mini Storage Vault: Hunting

This is what we have by our bed. I would like to hope that the mental thoughts required to hit the button combo might make me wake up somehow.

Regardless, that's some scary stuff indeed!

 

[snowrs]

I would move the gun, it is better to be a little unprepared than to do something you would regret for the rest of your life. You do live in Bedford so it's not like gangs and thugs are prowling your house daily. Moving it so your wife has to give it to you is a very good idea.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Hopefully an ambien thing! Scary for sure. Gotta make area secure for those not in control of thoughts. Get a camcorder out on SLP and see what else you are doing

 

[J_Wales]

Is your wife armed?

 

[CountryBoy19]

No meds, no drugs of any kind. I don't think I've even taken a mild decongestant in over a month.

Wife isn't too comfortable using the gun but I do like the idea of putting it on her side of the bed or something.

Hopefully it was just related to staying up late watching a show like we were watching.

 

[iMac]

Kind of a scary situation. I would consider the safe or moving it maybe under the bed to where you actually have to get out of bed to get it. That could at least be enough to wake your wife and wont leave you helpless if the time came.

 

[CombatVet]

I'm not known to sleep walk or anything of the sort but it seems that I may be starting, sort of.

Last night, apparently, while still lying in bed asleep, I picked up my bedside gun, pointed it in a safe direction and dropped the mag out. I was starting to rack the slide to clear the chamber when my wife asked what was wrong. Being unconscious and confused I didn't respond but I stopped what I was doing. She once again asked what I was doing. At that point I woke up, still slightly confused, and replied that I have no idea what I'm doing. Which was the truth, I had absolutely no idea why I had retrieved my bedside gun and started to clear it in my sleep. She said she didn't sleep the rest of the night because she was petrified that I would do it again only I would do the opposite of clearing it.

I now don't know what to do. My trust in myself has been shaken, and my wife's trust for me to not do stupid things in my sleep is now shaken.

Should I get tested for sleeping disorders? Make the gun more inaccessible? What would you do?

This is a big deal for me because I'm a strong believer in having a bedside gun for those "bumps in the night".



ETA, if it helps any, last night we stayed up much later than usual watching Prison Break on Netflix. Could this have contributed in some way?

Something ... similar has happened to me. VA's sorting it out. Long story short, mine is related to an injury. Until the VA does some more testing I've 1) unloaded all weapons in my home and placed them into a safe with a difficult way to open the safe 2) unloaded all but one magazine in the safe. The loaded mag is in my wife's bedside table. This is a redundant system set up to keep me from sleep walking to get a gun. It's scary and you should talk to your doctor about it. I highly doubt your issues is in anyway related to mine, as I said mine is from an injury. I wish you luck.

 

[Dirtebiker]

I have very vivid, realistic, bizarre dreams, and have punched, and kicked in the air and even hit my wife while I was asleep (as far as she knows! Jk).
Because of this, I keep my guns about 15-20 feet from me, so that I should be awake enough to know what I'm doing by the time I get to my weapons!

 

[mrortega]

Play the statistics. Statistically you are much more liable to do something stupid or have a gun accident than to actually need it at your bedside. I keep mine on top of the gun safe in the bedroom closet. I have to be awake enough to get into the closet and lay a hold of it.

 

[kilo11]

I'm not known to sleep walk or anything of the sort but it seems that I may be starting, sort of.

Last night, apparently, while still lying in bed asleep, I picked up my bedside gun, pointed it in a safe direction and dropped the mag out. I was starting to rack the slide to clear the chamber when my wife asked what was wrong. Being unconscious and confused I didn't respond but I stopped what I was doing. She once again asked what I was doing. At that point I woke up, still slightly confused, and replied that I have no idea what I'm doing. Which was the truth, I had absolutely no idea why I had retrieved my bedside gun and started to clear it in my sleep. She said she didn't sleep the rest of the night because she was petrified that I would do it again only I would do the opposite of clearing it.

I now don't know what to do. My trust in myself has been shaken, and my wife's trust for me to not do stupid things in my sleep is now shaken.

Should I get tested for sleeping disorders? Make the gun more inaccessible? What would you do?

This is a big deal for me because I'm a strong believer in having a bedside gun for those "bumps in the night".



ETA, if it helps any, last night we stayed up much later than usual watching Prison Break on Netflix. Could this have contributed in some way?

Here are my thoughts...As a former SOF medic, I have dealt with a number of different sleep disorders. If you haven't done this before, it is likely you are not developing sleep walking. Sleep walking generally shows up in our younger years, and gets diagnosed early on. Despite all of this, it is a good idea to go see your doctor to discuss what might have happened. Reactions to food, drink, medicine, or illness ( unaware of) could be the reasoning.

As far as the gun itself. You need to do what makes you and your family comfortable and safe. You might think about a gun vault safe or keeping the magazine separate from the gun. I like to keep the mag separate just so I have an action to do that gets my mind "thinking" again after being in a deep sleep. Maybe its better to put you gun somewhere else that safe in the bedroom until you can talk to your doctor and to see if you do it again. If it doesn't happen again, there may be nothing wrong at all.

 

[Comp]

I'd like a little more information, PM me.

 

[ruger1800]

get a guard dog, to sound the alarm or attack,if someone is breaking in, have your wife handcuff you to the bed with gun out of reach.