The Pros and Cons of Concealed Ankle Carry

The most popular way to wear a handgun is in a belt-mounted holster – and for good reason. A gun carried along the waist is easy to get to, which means you can deploy it quickly. It’s also easy to conceal a handgun worn along the waist with a shirt or a jacket.  But this mode of carry isn’t always feasible.

Try wearing a belt-mounted holster with sweatpants.  Or concealing one while wearing a dress shirt and tie without a jacket. In these situations, ankle carry may be a solution. This unusual mode of carry is also a viable option for carrying a secondary handgun.

Only by considering the pros and cons of ankle carry can you decide whether it’s right for you. But first, let’s examine the type of handgun, holster, and pants that are best suited for ankle carry. We’ll start with the handgun.

Ankle Carry Components

Wearing a full-sized handgun on your ankle is “clunky”, which makes walking uncomfortable. Small pistols and snub-nosed revolvers are your best bet. They are easier to conceal and more comfortable to wear. Perhaps most importantly, smaller guns are less likely to dislodge from your holster.

Ankle carry requires a holster that will retain your gun not only when walking but also when engaged in strenuous physical activity like running, jumping, or fighting – all of which may be required in a defensive scenario. In addition to being secure, your holster should be easy to draw from because getting to your ankle-worn gun is inherently slower than a gun worn along your waist. Often much slower.

An ankle holster should be worn on your non-dominant side, with the gun on the inside of your leg. This makes the gun more accessible to your shooting hand than if it were worn inside of your dominant side leg or on the outside of either leg.

The style of pants you wear is an important factor in your ability to conceal a gun worn on your ankle. Bell bottoms aren’t necessary, but skinny jeans won’t work. Slacks tend to work well but really any pants with room around the ankle will suffice.

Proper Technique

Successful ankle carry isn’t just a matter of having the right equipment. It requires proper technique. To reach a gun worn on your ankle, you’re going to need to either bring your leg up or your hand down. Since bringing your leg up compromises both balance and mobility, it’s best avoided in most cases.

Squatting requires a degree of flexibility but is a good option because you remain on your feet. Here’s how it’s done.

Take a large step forward with the leg your gun is worn on. Bend at both knees and grab the bottom of your pant leg with both hands. Lift the pant leg over your gun and keep hold of it with your non-dominant hand. Use your shooting hand to grip the gun and defeat your holster’s safety mechanism(s). Gun in hand, you can raise up or kneel as you drive the gun toward the threat.

Drawing from a kneeling position is virtually the same but it requires you to place your dominant knee on the ground after stepping forward with your non-dominant leg. While kneeling limits your mobility, it is a good option when you perceive a threat from a distance and have a short, solid object to use as cover.

Whichever technique you use, be sure to keep your head up, to monitor the potential deadly threat you’re responding to rather than looking down at your holstered gun. While this may sound like a no-brainer, your natural inclination will be to look at your holster. If you’re going to carry a gun in an ankle holster, you need to practice until drawing becomes second nature.

Self Defense Positioning

Even if you do everything right, kneeling, and to a lesser extent, squatting to draw your gun in response to a close-quarter deadly threat is likely to end with you flat on your back, with the assailant either stomping you or mounting you.This would leave you fighting from an inferior position, where the assailant has more leverage to attack or even disarm you. This and the inherently slower draw (compared to a belt-mounted holster) are the two biggest drawbacks to ankle carry. But ankle carry has some unique advantages that make it worth considering–especially for a backup gun.

Should find yourself on the ground, with an assailant on top of you, accessing your gun worn in a belt-mounted holster may be problematic. A wary assailant may key on the fact that you’re reaching for your gun. He’s then in a bargaining position to prevent you from drawing your gun or even disarming you. From your back, an ankle holster may be more accessible than a belt-mounted holster. It will likely be more difficult for the assailant to perceive. Here’s how it might work.

If you can wrap your legs around the assailant’s waist, in what’s referred to as the “guard” position in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, you may be able to pull the assailant down with your non-dominant hand and reach over his back with your shooting hand to draw your ankle carried gun.

Drawing a gun from your ankle is slower than drawing one from your waist. It also places you in a more vulnerable position if you’re facing an assailant in close quarters. Still, carrying a gun on your ankle is an option when a belt-mounted holster isn’t. It’s also a good place to carry a backup gun. But before strapping a gun to your ankle, understand the pros and cons, choose the appropriate gear, and practice, practice, practice.

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