Pros & Cons of Ankle Holsters

Concealment

• The greatest advantage to using an ankle holster is the ability to conceal your firearm. An ankle holster is worn just above your ankle and underneath your pant leg, providing complete concealment. When wearing an ankle holster, it is a good idea to wear pants that are loose fitting and can be easily raised at the bottom of the leg. Pants that are too tight around the legs will produce a noticeable bulge over your ankle holster and may impede drawing your weapon.

Security

• Ankle holsters are generally very reliable in keeping your weapon securely in its holster, even during activities like running. More modern ankle holsters, such as those produced by Forbus, feature a restraint system that only allows the weapon to be released if drawn in a specific manner. However, even traditional ankle holsters utilizing straps with snaps or Velcro will keep your gun in place.

Accessibility

• A major disadvantage of an ankle holster is accessibility. To draw your weapon, you must reach down to your ankle, release the weapon from the holster and quickly assume a practical shooting position. All of these actions can be complicated if you are in a stressful situation. If you need to have quick access to your handgun, then it should be within arm's reach; unfortunately, ankle holsters fall short in this category.

Gun Size

• If you're using an ankle holster, you're limited to the size of the weapon that you can carry. While ankle holsters are ideal for carrying snub-nose revolvers or small automatics, carrying a medium to large frame weapon is impractical and difficult to conceal. For this reason, ankle holsters are commonly used to carry backup weapons, rather than primary carry guns.