Very Functional, Very Ugly, but Also Very FREE
Bedside Holster System
by PJ
Very functional, very ugly, but also very FREE
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.
This past weekend I searched the interwebs and found that bedside holsters can range from around $35 to upwards of $75 for the ones made from really trick materials. I started thinking (and this didn’t take long) that I probably had enough miscellaneous stuff lying around the house to build one of these things myself. After all the main component is the holster and anyone who has a CCW permit has a drawer full of old holsters they will never use again. The rest of the stuff is really not that hard to come by, I’m betting you have most of this in your garage right now.
Bedside Holster Supplies
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.
T shaped boards
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.
Bedside Holster Test Fit
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).
Glock Speed Loader
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.
Velcro used to hold the speed loader in place
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.
Bedside Holster Finished
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.