In praise of ankle carry

[cjtraining]

I wore a Bianchi leather ankle holster for M37 BUG/OD/CCW for over thirty years. I hated it. The leather ankle strap was either to tight or to loose. The sheepskin wore to the leather and it hurt my ankle. Then I found the Galco Ankle Glove. I have now two, one for my M37 and one for M649. I notice no difference between the two. I wear them comfortably for over eight hours, no problem. I just bought another one on eBay for off hand carry. I have an Uncle Mike's Sidekick that is no where near as comfortable as the Galco. I use a Galco Underwraps Belly Band when I wear cargo shorts. As discussed, neither is a quick draw, but I always have a gat.

 

[rchance]

I use to ankle carry but shied away because I didn't think I'd be able to get to my weapon in every circumstance. Just look at the thread where the Ohio guy was being pulled from his vehicle. How in the world could you get to your weapon? I'm not saying you shouldn't carry that way if you want to but I prefer mine either on my side for quick draw or in my fanny pack when running. Carry how you feel confortable I'm just blabbing.

 

[WC145]

I use to ankle carry but shied away because I didn't think I'd be able to get to my weapon in every circumstance.

I don't care how you carry, you're not going to be able to get to your weapon in every circumstance, every carry set up is a compromise. I prefer to carry strong side OWB but I'm a big guy and would have a very hard time accessing my gun with my weak hand. That's why I carry a BUG that I can access from my weak side when I'm on duty. An ankle holster is one of those things that works when nothing else will, the best of the compromises at the moment.

 

[NKJ nut]

Ankle carry doesn't work too well for me for a couple of reasons. My arms are so short that my hands can't touch my ankle without standing on one foot or bending over and my shorts are so short they wouldn't cover the gun. I can't find long shorts anywhere

 

[shooter7]

Do any of you guys wear an ankle weight, or second holster with a second gun or knife, or whatever, on the opposite ankle, to balance things out?

 

[sipowicz]

I have never felt the need with an airweight...but a second rig would be a great place to carry my cell phone...::

 

[photoman]

I have never felt the need with an airweight...but a second rig would be a great place to carry my cell phone...::

Just make sure you grab the correct ankle when the phone rings.

 

[Shorty4T]

I have never felt the need with an airweight...but a second rig would be a great place to carry my cell phone...::

Sip, give the Cop Ankle Safe a try, it might be a good option for this...Agree with Photoman44, make sure you know which ankle is ringing.

I'm really bad about this when I pocket carry, when the phone rings I often reach for the wrong ringer!!

OK once again this forum has cost me money, this thread prompted me to order a DeSantis Die Hard Ankle Rig for the M&P. Anyone have any experience with this holster, it is the ONLY molded leather ankle holster that I can find from the major manufacturers for a M&P Compact.

Cheers,
Sam

 

[cjw3]

With summer here in GA, ankle carry would look a bit odd on me since I'm in shorts all the time.

When I was still working (and constrained by a uniform policy), I did carry a Glock 27 in an ankle holster for several years as a backup for the G22 on my belt.

They get dusty, dewy, etc. down there, get bumped against things, and are slow/awkward to get to, BUT....a second gun is a second gun, regardless of where it is on you.

They have their place for a backup piece.

 

[Shorty4T]

I'm gonna hijack Sip's thread for a minute; earlier in the week I ordered a DeSantis Die Hard Ankle Rig for my M&P40c after being a Galco Ankle Glove user for a number of years. Galco doesn't make the Ankle Glove for the M&Pc (it just about has to have something to do with their Glock contract); they do however have their Ankle Lite (soft leather opposed to molded leather of the Ankle Glove) for the M&P which I posted previously in this thread.

The Ankle Lite has never worked as well as the Ankle Glove for my various J-Frames. The pistol just didn't sit as well for me, the fact that it is a heavier pistol has something to do with it I'm sure. The DeSantis holster is the only commercially available molded leather holster that I've been able to find unless I want to go with a custom/semi-custom shop for the work. It is unfortunate that the ankle holsters for the M&P are so limited with a number of departments moving to the M&P; locally Conyers PD and DeKalb PD have both moved from Glock to M&P.

DeSantis Die Hard Ankle Rig

The interesting thing about this holster is that the velcro clasp extends past the edge of the holster as can be seen on the right in the picture above. The holster still has the 2" wide velcro strip on the elastic band, the extension is for those that may where boots with the holster and omits the need to get the boot extender.

So far wearing the holster has been comfortable, the cant is more straight up and down compared to the Galco Ankle Lite and balances very well on the ankle. It has typical new holster stiffness but it should wear out well, the molded holster keeps the M&P much more ridged with is something I've come to like with the Ankle Glove.

It'll be a keeper for now, certainly time will be the ultimate test to check the holsters long term comfort. Updates will came as needed.

Cheers,
Sam