After 15 years of strong side carry I’m thinking there is a place for an ankle hoster for a backup. I have no experience with this type of carry. Can anyone suggest a good ankle holster for a lightweight J frame based on experience?
If a j frame Smith is not ideal for ankle carry I would be interested in other firearm suggestions. Other options I currently have are a Seecamp .32 and M&P 9C.
Thank you for any input.
Galco Ankle Glove.
Galco Ankle Glove. We issue a G26 and Ankle Glove to all of our Officers as back-up/off duty wear. They are comfortable and secure.
I like the renegade ankle holster. It is comfortable and concealable.
There’s only one option, in my opinion and that’s an Alessi or authorized reproduction, like what Bulman Gunleather makes. Nothing else is as secure or comfortable.
The Galco just plain sucks. Attaching a leather holster to neoprene that fastens with hook and loop is a horrible way to make an ankle holster. I’ve found that if you get it tight enough to eliminate some of the wobble, it cuts off circulation in the foot. Not a good thing.
GALCO ANKLE GLOVE serves my bodytype well.
Of the several types I carry the S&W 640-1 works perfectly for me.
http://www.usgalco.com/HolsterPT3.asp?ProductID=1725&CatalogID=6
This is the most secure and comforatble I have found to date, of course YMMV…
Make sure it is properly adjusted as you can run, kick w/ it.
HTH…
started with the Galco for my Colt Agent, but it didn’t work out well for me. I found the elastic and Velcro closeure always felt like it was going to come loose.
I now use a Tauris ankle holster. Like many of the custom holsters it has a adjustable strap that wraps around the ankle. He is a retired cop in the Utica , NY area and has a preety quick turn around time.
After attending a course with mike debethencourt I started wearing it on my strong side ankle butt forward.
This method allows for better access from unconventional positions such as from on the ground.
http://www.taurisholsters.com/ankle.cfm
I have used a Renegade ankle holster for a S&W 442 BUG for years. It’s comfortable, secure, and easy to draw from.
Don’t skimp. Buy a quality holster that’s contoured correctly, sized properly, and does not require over or under tensioning in order to stay in place. Nerve or vascular damage can occur if the holster isn’t worn properly. If it offers one-size-fits-all or universal adjustment, beware.
Off-the-shelf mass-produced ankle holsters are sized, proportioned, and contoured for average-sized men. If you are not “average”, pay attention to taper and contour for their effect on bone/muscle structure at the ankle and calf.
Counter-balance the weight of the gun with weight on the other side. A spare mag, light, or other weight helps to even out your gait and limit other tendency to “throw” the weighted leg.
Be sure to try all of the different styles and pairs of shoes you wear with your choice of holster, and be willing to change one or the other. I’ve had holsters that worked well with athletic shoes that were intolerable with dress shoes, and vice versa.
Practice, practice, practice deployment.
Style, cut, and construction of pants should also be considered. Finer material may wear quickly. Consider having your tailor reinforce fine dress clothes. To preserve a dress look, increase the rake of your hem with greater drop to the heel. If material and appearance are less an issue, add 2" to your inseam and drive on.
If you carry the really lightweight guns like LCPs, scandiums, and sometimes the airweights, they will mask the failures of lesser holsters. If you want to carry more gun, like a Glock subcompact or an M&P compact, you will need a better holster.
I ankle carry a G27 12-18 hours every day. I use only Alessi ankle holsters to maintain comfort and prevent injury. I’ve been able to carry G19s and G23s on the ankle as well, when the advice above is heeded.
I want to thank everyone for your advice. I know 10x more about ankle holsters now than I did when I started this thread. That’s why I asked the question here. I know most of the users of m4carbine are squared away.
I carried a back up Glock 26/27 in a desantis apache ankle rig for years and it served me well.
Worked best with a low to mid boot. The padding makes it feel a bit bulky and a bit unstable at first. It takes a bit for the padding to mold to your leg, but after wearing it a few times it feels far more stable and less bulky.
And, I always ran the retention strap over the grip just under the slide, not over the back of the slide as always shown in their pictures. I also shoved the Glock in further than they always show. There is a stitched in “stop” of sorts that I believe the front of the trigger guard is supposed to seat against. I just shoved it in past that so that it pressed against the bottom of the trigger guard and the slide poked out the bottom just a bit and felt that it held more securely.
That sounds like mostly gripes but it actually was quite comfortable and worked wonderfully. Running, climbing, banging into the car door sill, whatnot. Never worried about it.
I no longer wear it daily. But, I occasionally throw an airweight in it when circumstances dictate and that works fine with shoes.
Bianchi Ranger Triad. I have carried a Ruger SP-101 in this rig for 10 yrs now. It has a nice thick pad and is secure.
IMO nothing is better than the Renegade. Mine has been worn at least 12 hours each and every day for the past 3 years. There is nothing that I cant do with it on including playing basket ball or wrestling with the kids.
J-Frames are not bad at all to carry as a BUG in ankle carry. I’ve done it for a few years with no problem. The key for me was 1.) to practice with it in uniform, plain clothes attire, off-duty wear etc, basically practice with it in the same manner you carry and 2.) not to ever forget it was there, mine is light and disappears.
Don’t skimp on the holster, as others stated the Galco Ankle Glove is great, or a some more $ you can try an Alessi ankle holster or John Ralston makes a very close copy to the ALessi at 5-Shot Leather. I recently got an Alessi and it is sweet. Just my .02
Galco Ankle Glove. I can carry my S&W 442 all day with no problem.
I’ll echo what others have already said and cast my vote for the Alessi ankle rig. I’ve been wearing a J-frame in the same Alessi rig everyday for about the last 8 years and it has proven not only comfortable and secure but also bulletproof. I’ve tried a few other ankle holsters but none have ever measured up to the Alessi design, which can also be had from my pal John Ralston at 5 Shot Gunleather.
I have been wearing my Alessi for years. It is by far my favorite, followed by Renegade.
I’ve had good luck with the Hume H760. Fell back to using the Renegades lately, although my j-frame likes to fall out once in a while. I wonder if Renegade will make a j frame model with a strap?
I have an alessi rig for the following pistols and love them they are built like brick shat houses also
SW 3913
SW Jframe
G27-26
I have used and love all of them the Jframe is lightest and one I use most as BUG but if I need a bigger primary I go with one of the others with no issues
I also have an Alessi Ankle holster for a 642, it is comfortable but I am always hyper conscious about my pants not being long and baggy enough, especially while seated so I prefer pocket carry as it is much more comfortable and secure for my purposes. YMMV
GU.