Ankle carry questions

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abrink

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Well i've decided that the easiest way to carry for me is to ankle carry. My question for you is, is it a practical way to carry? I understand i could pocket carry but my front pocket is crucial. Prob wouldn't find a way to get away with pocket carry. No other carry method i heard of meets my needs including smartcarry and all that.

If you were being robbed on the street would you say like i keep my money in my shoe and then draw?

I guess you could give him your money and confront him when he starts walkin away.
 
If you were being robbed on the street would you say like i keep my money in my shoe and then draw?

I guess you could give him your money and confront him when he starts walkin away.
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Are you seriously going to draw on someone AFTER you have given them your money and they are no longer a threat walking away?

At that point you would be a much better witness (or follow from a distance)and report it to the cops. I find it hard to believe that if the ****bag simply wants money - that I am going to do anything but give it to him and let him be on his way.

$50.00 aint worth my future as a father to my kids.

Now - as far as ankle carry in this situation, I would argue against it

Obviously - I understand that all situations are different and if your getting the immediate hinky feeling that your toast even if you give him your money - then you need to do something. In this case, having your gun down there is not going to give you ready access to it and may cost you several very important seconds.
 
Ankle carry is really not ideal for most situations.

As a helpful gesture, why don't you list the usual contents of your pockets and the rethink your situation?

Does it matter if you answer your cell phone in three seconds as opposed to two seconds? No.

With a gun? That second could determine if you live or die, unfortunately.

Rethink the importance of having your usual pocket items immediately accesible and tell us what you come up with.
 
Ankle Guns

My first 15 or so years as a cop I carried a S&W Model 60 in an ankle holster, as a backup gun, in fact two holsters, wore the first one out. Then I replaced the Model 60 with a S&W Model 42 in my front right pocket as a back up.
 
I wore an ankle rig everyday as back up for 31 years, both in uniform and plain clothes.

RE your comment "If you were being robbed on the street would you say like i keep my money in my shoe and then draw?"
Do you really plan on drawing against a drawn gun already pointed at you? Who do you think will be faster - you who are drawing and then have to get on target or the guy who is already pointing the gun at you? Before you decide to make such a move you need to get some good tactical and defensive tactics training. Pick and choose the course carefully. Many of the defensive training classes only deal with shooting, not when, because it's much more fun to shoot than it is to think about the tactics of it.
 
If you were being robbed on the street would you say like i keep my money in my shoe and then draw?

I guess you could give him your money and confront him when he starts walkin away.
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OMG

OK before your shift stars at the food court, lets talk about shooting someone in the back, how the legal system (shark lawyers) just love mall comandos like you.
So you were robbed, they walked/ran away, you were not molested and unharmed except you are now broke.
Then you drawn and shoot someone from behind.
Have a nice stay in for the next 20 - 50 years.
 
Disadvantages of an Ankle Carry:
1. Accessability is slow and awkward even with practice.
2. It exposes your gun to all sorts of bad weather, snow, ice, water, dirt and anything else you have to walk through.
3. Security: I don't know how many cops I know that had to retrace their steps to find the gun that fell out of the holster after a foot pursuit.
4. If you get into a fight and knock the bad guy down, he is now closer to your gun than you are and he is going to grab for your legs.
5. It's uncomfortable.
 
Ankle carry certainly does have it's disadvantages, but IMO it is certainly better than no gun at all. I carry a Smith 637 in a Galco Ankle Glove with a thumbstrap all day everyday. With a lightweight gun and a quality holster I do not find it uncomfortable at all. In fact, after the first couple of days you forget it is there. This is the only method of carry I can get away with during the work day, and it works for me. The draw can be awkward, but that is what practice is for.
 
"...but IMO it is certainly better than no gun at all.'

I can't argue with that. Just like a .25 is better than no gun at all. It just isn't optimal.
 
Doesn't generally work in South Florida heat while wearing shorts. Also tends to give one the QUASIMODO sort of gait. Think Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein.
 
I carried a S&W model 15 on my ankle for many years when flying C-141Bs. I found the holster was more comfortable with the gun on the front of my boot, not the side. That got rid of the weird gait I had with it on the outside or inside. Ankle carry worked because I was seated during the flight.

As for concealing in and around town, ankle carry may actually be a liability. You will not have time to draw, so forget about that. Muggings that I’ve studied DO NOT happen like they do in a Bronson flick. The bad guys aren’t going to encircle you, taunt you, and then ask for your money. They will come out of nowhere and either immediately demand money or just knock you over and take it. If they find a concealed weapon on you, they’ll take that too.
 
Are you seriously going to draw on someone AFTER you have given them your money and they are no longer a threat walking away?
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Just because you give them your money doesn't mean the threat is over. A robbery is not a binding money-for-life contractual exchange. As long as they have iron out and have threatened your life, you should shoot them at the first possible chance. Even if that means tossing your wallet and plugging them in the back when they turn to get it. Don't try to fight "fair" with someone who's drawn iron and is threatening to kill you. Of course, if they toss iron down and run off, the threat is gone. But these days it's much more likely to be your money AND your life. If you live in a jurisdiction where the criminals have a legal right to take your money, I'd suggest leaving post haste. Up here I personally know two people and know of several more who have put bullets in the backs of would-be threats and never served a day for it. If their iron is out and the threat is pending, they're still a threat whichever part of them is facing you. Now at ANY TIME they can end the issue by tossing down iron and walking away. The choice is THEIRS to make. If they choose to keep hold of the iron and continue the threat, you must take whatever steps you can to survive. Whether they have or do not have your wallet is TOTALLY IRRELEVANT. Forget about the wallet and the money, it has nothing to do with anything. Worry about the FRICKING GUN.

That rant over, the ankle carry is a classic backup position. I would not rely on it for primary carry. It's for when an person loses his main firearm or cannot get to it for some reason.
 
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Pros and Cons

Ankle Carry generally provides good access while seated or if you have rolled onto your back.

Pants-pocket carry generally provides discreet access (as in hand already on the gun in the left front pocket) while standing.

For those who cannot carry in a belt holster, I have been known to recommend one gun in the pocket and one gun on the ankle, if tolerated.

The last I knew, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department was re-evaluating the authorization of ankle carry after a few deputies lost ankle guns during foot pursuits.

For more detail (and a few more options), you may want to read thorugh my Holster Selection page.
 
The only time I have ankle carried is on road trips because the gun is very accessible in a low car seat. It was never very satisfactory otherwise.
 
I've ankle carried for about 20 years now, started when I was LEO and have continued. No longer work LE or security but still carry and because of my job and work dress now ankle carry is really the only option for me. Not the optimal carry but it still beats no carry. When I'm on my time it just goes from primary to backup duty but it's always there.
 
Just to be clear i'm no dumbass. I've had tactical training andof course i wouldn't take the course of action of drawing my weapon if his gun is all ready pointed at me. I'm just wondering your opinion on ankle carry. Nothing else!
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If the above were all true then you wouldn't have posted this...
If you were being robbed on the street would you say like i keep my money in my shoe and then draw?
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Wherever you took this "tactical training" you should try a different class because the one you took didn't give you the info you needed.

Your other posts tell a different story about your so called "tactical training" and knowledge.
 
I'm certainly no expert, but it seems to me that ankle carry is best used when discretion, as opposed to speed, is most needed. If you work in an office where you're supposed to wear "business casual," then the only two options that come to mind are ankle carry or a belly band. At "huggy" churches, you're going to get made real fast if it's anywhere but the ankle. The situation is similar at a college, although wearing somewhat baggy pants is more of an option there.

To my mind, it's basically an "anti-lunatic" defense for when you're surrounded by those who aren't pro-gun.
 
I'm starting to like the idea of a J-frame in a front pocket, a J-frame on an ankle, and a 1911 IWB at 4 o' clock.

A whole bunch of very thorough muggers proclaim: "Surely he hasn't handguns three!?!"

Although those sound like the rare type of muggers that might, on our off day, beat you or me in Scrabble.

Of course, thats 70 ounces of gun and as many rounds as one CZ 75 P-01...
 
I'm certainly no expert, but it seems to me that ankle carry is best used when discretion, as opposed to speed, is most needed. If you work in an office where you're supposed to wear "business casual," then the only two options that come to mind are ankle carry or a belly band. At "huggy" churches, you're going to get made real fast if it's anywhere but the ankle. The situation is similar at a college, although wearing somewhat baggy pants is more of an option there.
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To my mind, it's basically an "anti-lunatic" defense for when you're surrounded by those who aren't pro-gun.
Click to expand...

Exactly why I would ankle carry when other options aren't feasible.
 
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