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WildBill wrote:The guy was a retired LEO so maybe he was used to carrying his BUG in an ankle holster. I could see an ankle holster being good for a BUG if lost your primary handgun and you were already on the ground mixing it up with a BG.

I've heard too many stories of ankle-carried guns getting away while running and fighting to ever want to risk that. I can't imagine the SmartCarry easily dumping the weapon, and simply bending at the waist provides pretty solid retention if the BG somehow figures out the gun is there. Also, I can reach the SmartCarry from pretty much any position, without the contortions involved in getting to an ankle holster while wrestling on the ground.

Excaliber wrote:Ankle carry is fairly comfortable way to keep a gun the size of a snub nose revolver with you and concealed without a lot of trouble (once you get used to having one heavy foot), and the complex and time consuming draw sequence it requires is OK if one is always able to see the situation far enough out to accomplish the draw before coming directly under the BG's gun.

So, when is ankle carry preferable to or faster than SmartCarry/Thunderwear? The only situations I can think of would be if you're wearing clothes that don't open in the middle, like overalls or a dress. (Even coveralls have a fly that's big enough to get a gun through, or a double-ended zipper, and overalls have that nice carry pocket on the chest.) The draw may be a little tougher to make excuses for, but it is a lot less obvious even if you do have to stick your hand an inch or two into your pants.

I can carry a 1911 or PT-99 with some loss of comfort in the SmartCarry under any clothing I could legally walk down the street in. The Taurus 605 with two speed strips, once positioned correctly, is easy to get to and not the least bit uncomfortable. I've driven several hours with it carried like that with no problems, and it's my preferred carry method anytime I'm not wearing my vest.

I just don't see a need for ankle carry anymore.