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Txroadcyclist wrote: I know that carrying in an ankle holster slows reaction time but with situational awareness I am relying on the opportunity to use time to my advantage.

I think you mean draw speed, not reaction time.

Txroadcyclist wrote:
I'm aware of the flaws but it is the best option for me.

That's an excellent point, becoming aware of the flaws. A lot of people new to CHL are unaware of the flaws. We need to figure out the flaws/weakness and then decide if they are acceptable, not acceptable, or how much we can adjust to shore up our defensive measures, ie..awareness, better empty hands skills, etc.

How do we figure out the weakness'es? Talking to others with experience, reading, figuring it out on our own, and validating them in the proper context.

Txroadcyclist wrote:
Any life or death confrontation will be chock full of flaws, what ifs and if I had only....

Hopefully, we work toward mitigating those flaws and stacking the deck as much as we can beforehand.

stroo wrote: However a lot of the speed out of the pocket depends on the size of the pocket; bigger pocket translates into faster draw.

I agree pocket size can affect drawspeed and a pocket that allows the gun to be drawn while holding the pistol is what we are looking for. But, a bigger pocket may allow the gun to get re-oriented causeing a more difficult access. This is where a good pocket holster shines, by keeping the gun in the same orientation, and in the pocket. If you get knocked on your back the gun could fall out of the pocket. If you carry in the back pocket and you are sitting, or on your back, you need to find a way to get your gun in play from those positions. We need to find out how our gear works in different positions and if we can be effective (get our tools in play).

stroo wrote: The other side of pocket carry is that you can have your hand on your gun in your pocket ready to go where as it is hard to casually grab your gun at the 3 or 4 o'clock OWB position.

That is a good point about pre-emptive grip on the pistol without others aware. Consider this, If there is a unknown person that may/may not have shown his ill intent, ( you are not justified in drawing your gun), do you really want to have only one hand available to deal with him?

stroo wrote: If you factor in having your hand on the gun in the pocket versus having to throw up the cover garment and put your hand on the gun with the JIT, then the draw times for the pocket carry become only slightly slower than for the JIT and maybe even.

I'll try time these out in the next day or two and post back. I am interested in hearing from others as well. What's the difference in your times between hands out of pocket vs hand on gun in pocket?

Good discussion point have been made so far.

"Carrying" a gun is only a part of the self defense equation. The gun isn't a talisman, and shouldn't be carried/employed as such. I assume we want to be effective, should we need to defend ourselves & loved ones. Employing a tool effectively, if/when needed, is the most important part of overcoming the initiative deficit of a criminal assault.

How tools are concealed play a significant role in getting them into action. So it is very important to know
the strengths & weaknesses of our carry methods. We may be able to compensate for the weaknesses with our other abilities & attributes, but that may be negated by our company, ie. small child in your care when the balloon goes up. We might also weaken the strengths. So, we have to work and test objectively in context to learn to make informed decisions. Because we have to learn implicitly this is not merely a singular shooting match.

mr.72, Dan20703, stroo, etc... What are your draw times of the smaller guns you carry vs. the other carry gun(s) you may carry? What draw time is your goal? I did a quickdraw test just now & mousegun was in the 2.5-3.5 second range vs. the J-frame was 1.2-2 second range. I find it significant that the difference in the slowest times is 1.5 seconds.