[Gunner4h1r3]

what would be a good ankle/back-up gun for CCW?

[MCgunner]

An alloy J frame revolver under 20 ounces like the 642 or my Taurus 85UL. I prefer small revolvers for ankle carry, personally, to autos, and my ankle holsters are cheap Uncle Mikes. They work, but it's good to have a hammer on the gun for the retention strap. My M85UL works great on an ankle. A 24 ounce steel frame gun is a little too much weight and you'll feel it bouncing around more when you walk. I wouldn't even consider my SP101 for ankle duty.

[Gunner4h1r3]

Thanks for the info. I was looking at the Taurus 85 line, come to think of it. What would be a good load for a lightweight snubby?

[BikerRN]

My BUG is a S&W 442.

It rides good in a pocket or on the ankle and shoots a 38 SPL "pill". Due to S&W have a Lifetime Warranty and the speed at which they deal with warranty issues I wouldn't consider anything else in a revolver for a BUG.

Biker

[zoom6zoom]

My 642 weighs a pound fully loaded. In a Galco Ankle Glove, I can barely notice it's there.

[JERRY]

some folks like the alloy framed guns, some like me, prefer the all steel guns....

i find the easy of shooting out weights the heft of carrying on my ankle because a good holster will negate the differences....

[Erik]

Which ever S&W J-frame you prefer. Most prefer the Airweights in pockets and on ankles, it seems.

[MrBill120]

I sometimes carry a Glock 26 on the ankle. I have two DeSantis rigs, the Apache which is all elastic (like a belly band), and the "044" Leather rig.
I use these in the warm weather -- no coat, and shirt tucked in...

[The Lone Haranguer]

A Kahr PM9 should make a good ankle gun, but more attention must be paid to keeping it clean.

[1 old 0311]

I have a S&W 340PD. It weighs a whopping 12 ounces. Only problem with it is I constantly find myself 'bumping' it to be sure it is still there.

[nonseven]

I carry a Glock 26 or a J-Frame S&W in a Alessi ankle rig. I may soon be switching the Glock 26 to a Glock 39 in .45 GAP.

[Rexster]

I carry a Ruger SP101 regularly in an Alessi ankle rig. This has been talked to death in earlier posts, so a search might reveal much good info.

[DAdams]

Amazing no one has said KelTec yet. North American .32, Seecamp .32. Seecamp .380. S&W M&P 340. Although I wouldn't want to carry a snub around on my ankle personally of any ilk, steel or Sc/Ti.

[deputy tom]

As a youngster I used to carry a J-frame on my ankle.Now as an older retired kind of guy I would and do carry a lighter ankle gun ie. , kel-tec P32 or NAA mini-mag.YMMV.tom.:cool:

[wcwhitey]

I am not a big fan of auto's for ankle wear. I agree that a J frame or equivalent is a great choice. My reasoning is that ankle guns get very dirty and dusty and the revolvers are more forgiving in this area. I carry a S&W 640 .38, I would prefer an air weight but have to carry what they tell me I can carry. Bill

[badgerw]

I currently carry a Colt Mustang Pocketlite in a Ken Null ankle holster.

I am seriously considering switching to a S&W 442 or 340PD.

YMMV one hell of a lot.

Bill

[1BLINDREF]

S&W 642 - enough said! :)

[PhrankKastle]

I carry my Sig P239 in an uncle Mikes ankle holster and it works great for me, I can slap 2 spare mags in pants pocket and I'm all set.

[strickj]

I have a couple of cop friends that carry keltec 380 tucked nicely in their vest
light weight no safety and an 8 pound? trigger I think?

[lonewolf5347]

I use my old old s@w chief spec: 38 been with me 40 years and the same ankle holster: Il ike the new speer gold dots I think they are 139 grainers

[Beowolf1911]

I never got the whole back up gun thing, if you trust your gun with your life it should be pretty much 100% reliable. I know things can go wrong but I think you would be better off with an extra mag on that ankle then the gun. although a .410 derrenger would make a handy little trick to fall back on.

[wcwhitey]

No machine is 100% reliable. Carrying a B/U is an individual thing. When I first started working I carried a S&W64 and my 640 as B/U as I was concerned with the revolvers capacity, never questioned it's reliability. It is easier and faster to produce a second gun in most cases than it is to reload, a.k.a the New York Reload. Got used to doing it and came to like the little five shot quite a bit. Now that I have 16 rounds in my duty gun the reload is not as important but after seeing a quite a few phase 3 malfunctions at the range and a few out of battery failures in the field I chose to still carry the little gun as an insurance policy. Off-Duty, plain clothes is another story and I don't generally carry a second gun to the store and it goes from the ankle to my waist.

[Rexster]

I don't like to think of my weapons as back-ups, but as alternatives. Bad guys do not announce their attacks from across a street; the first hint of an attack may be something that injures or otherwise occupies one's "strong" side arm or hand. We will not always be on our feet when we deploy a weapon; being flat on the ground or seated in a car might hinder deployment of a weapon from a given location. In a gunfight, bad guys tend to point their weapons at the defender's weapon, which can cause damage or loss of the weapon and/or the hand holding it. I routinely carry at least two handguns while on my own time, and being a peace officer is only part of that reason. I mostly use ankle carry at work, on patrol.

[rtrwv]

I'm totally against ankle carry, but if I was forced to choose it would be a glock 27.