Tiger McKee, the direct mentor at the Shootrite Firearms
conservatory in Langston, AL, truly likes ankle holsters. He employs them a lot
for moving a back-up pistol or even for carrying his main gun while a holster
on the belt isn't an alternative.
Ankle holsters perform well when drawing from locations
other than standing. As McKee clarifies, "If I'm warped up in a fetal
place, trying to continue the bad guy from kicking my head in, the draw from
[an] ankle holster may be faster and safer than trying to draw the gun on my
belt. If I'm seated in a car or at the back a desk the ankle holster can be
easier and/or quicker to entrance."
For these cause the ankle holster has always been admired
with police officers who carry back-up weapons. When I worked the road, I
borught an ankle holster most of the time—primarily for a snub-nose revolver,
but later than I was issued a Glock 22, I carried a Glock 27 in an ankle
holster.
For genuine relaxed ankle holster carry you need to have
some ankle to strip it to. I've always had thin ankles, but wore boots when in
uniform so that aided some. Still, there was a learning curve connected with
ankle carry, particularly with handguns as bulky as the Glock 27. Firstly, with
25 ounces strapped to your leg, you will march like Festus Haggen.
Ankle
holsters won't employment with just any two of a kind of pants. Trousers need
to be cut a bit longer than standard or not only will everyone observe that
your sock don't match, they'll know you have a gun short of money to your leg.
McKee also worried that, "When selecting to carry an
ankle holster you require to dedicate yourself even further to practice,
especially on drawing from compromising situations." He's correct, and
similar to Close Combat Instructor Michael Janich who was skilled by Col. Rex
Applegate points out, "Ankle holsters necessitate the use of two hands to
clear the pant leg and draw the gun. For tall or heavy shooters or those with
limited suppleness, drawing from an ankle-holster may be very difficult."
Then there's the matter of which leg you wear the ankle
holster on and do you carry it on the inside or outside of the leg. If used to
carry your main gun, it needs to be available by your strong hand. That means
it's weared on the within of your weak-side leg or the outside of your
strong-side leg. The trouble with outside carry is that you will perpetually
bump the gun on just about everything.
If you utilize an ankle holster to carry a back-up gun,
consider making it most available for the weak hand. This makes sense,
especially in a position where you are going for the back-up gun because you
have been offended. Maybe your muscular hand has been disable and you've
dropped your primary gun.
In my skinny-legged judgment, all ankle holsters
are painful. Since I gave up my brooch, I've never used one outside a range
during a instruction class. From an armed-civilian point of view, I think
they're greatest suitable to the carry of super solid handguns like the Ruger
LCP.