New BUG carry option

[snatchel]

Well, I'm sure y'all have seen my comments Bout appendix carry...but I bought an ankle holster this past week and wanted to give some sort of review on an ankle holster for S&W Bodyguard.

Uncle Mikes # 10 Ankle holster.ade for a .25 auto according to the packaging, but I (sneaky) took it into Academy's dressing room to see if it would fit my little BG .380. It was tight, but has stretched appropriately to fit the little guy.

Comfort: ankle carry is comfy, especially under dress slacks. Yes, it takes getting used to because of the extra weight on your leg. Also, I can't cross my left leg over my right pike I'm used to. Oh well.

Convenience: ankle carry is convenient if not always tactically advantageous. If you wear jeans and don't care for pocket carry.

Tactical Concerns: not gonna be a quick draw unless your seated, kneeling, or possibly on your back in a rustle. For driving it was great. For church (I'm catholic) we do a lot of kneeling and sitting then standing...so about 50% of the time it was easily accessible. (Catholics will appreciate that humor...maybe).

All in all I dont mind ankle carry. A bit slow on the draw, but it defiantly is an awesome method. Major que nada. For 36 bucks I'm happy.

[Fisherman74]

Always good when you find something that works for you, and good it allows you to tote a BUG.

[Excaliber]

Ankle carry is a viable method of carry as long as you actively compensate for the tactical drawbacks it brings:

- It's a slow draw. Try timing the interval from a random draw signal to first hit at 6 feet. Then compare that result to the average start to finish times for gunfights of 2 - 3 seconds. Evaluate the result.

- Because of the slow draw, you need to have the gun in your hand before the fight actually starts. This means your situational awareness has to be a 10 out of 10 all the time, and you have to act decisively and early - and quite likely earlier than you would if you carried in a more accessible manner. This brings up issues of potentially drawing too soon with all the attendant concerns that surround that.

- The draw stroke is two handed and couldn't by any stretch of the imagination be called discreet. If you make the move to access the gun in close time proximity to a confrontation, absolutely no one is going to think you're retying your shoe laces. A street thug will also recognize what's going on and use the draw time interval to his advantage - and your disadvantage.

- Some folks carry a Glock 26 or similar serious gun this way, but they're in the minority due to weight and concealability issues. Most folks who go with ankle carry do so with small caliber and/or limited capacity guns - thus multiplying the tactical disadvantages of their basic weapon choice.

Is ankle carry comfortable? Sure.

Is it viable?

When combined with a small caliber limited capacity gun I see it as in the same category as the recent post that described carrying a gun in a rubber band secured eyeglass case - a little bit better than leaving it in your car, but not much more likely to do you any good if you need it during a real world defensive encounter.

I'd like to get some videos when this method of carry is used during Andy C's combat exercise when the details on that are finalized. They would be quite useful for folks considering this option.