“I need to keep a pistol by the door.”
Pfft. Frickin’ bolt a slap-grab box to the inside of the door it with a locked/loaded .45 in it. If there are no kids in the house, skip the box, and just mount a fully occupied holster on the door. On the wall, BEHIND the door (out of reach of anyone outside), mount a shotgun rack and keep it ready to rock ‘n’ roll.
POSSIBLE RESOURCES:
http://www.gunvault.com/
http://www.thegungrabber.com/
The only vaccination against regret is preparedness.
Good ideas.