The ability to properly, smoothly and quickly draw & present your weapon is very important. You must be able to perform it as fast as necessary ... obviously.
People who legally carry handguns for defensive use, either professionally or non-professionally, may often overlook this important consideration. I've often wondered if many of our armed folks don't simply think it's "enough" to be armed, and find themselves always too busy with whatever to frequently practice their draw & presentation skills. It certainly shows at the range, come qualification time.
We've had folks complain ... cops don't "whine"
... that it's simply unreasonable, and certainly unnecessary, to require that they demonstrate the ability to perform a failure-to-stop-drill, or triple tap ... from the holster, with the retention devices used ... at 3 yards ... in 4 seconds. Either in uniform, with an "exposed" holster, AND in plainclothes.
Yep, just 4 seconds ... as many of you raise your eyes and wonder if it's being done in slow-motion.
And, like mete said, a reasonably trained shooter can do it in a second ... and just over a second with a "precision" head shot added. Many cops don't like to spend their own time & money to train, though ...
I've watched many cops arrive at the range, and remove their car coats & jackets, so they don't have to try and draw while wearing them, while being "timed" ... and then, they'll try and place their hands on their weapon grips in anticipation of the timer buzzer, or verbal signal (pays to be prepared for an unexpected "threat" signal, instead of the same old sound) ... or, they'll try and reholster after the first time and conveniently "forget" to resecure their holder retention devices, if they have them (we allow "open-top" holsters for plainclothes).
Anything to give them that little extra "edge" in order to qualify under a very reasonable time limitation ...
Who are they "cheating"?
Many of them will "remember", with some small chagrin, to resecure their weapons in their holsters if we remind them ... and some will say that in "real life" they'd already have their weapons drawn before they're needed, and being able to "fast draw" isn't necessary in L/E work. Nice thought, but probably not as realistic as they're hoping. Then again, some folks seem to lead charmed lives ...
CCW folks? Well using last night as an example, we had a lot of folks wear holsters for the class ... less than half of them. That's a lot for one of the CCW classes. I always encourage folks to use their chosen method of carry to draw & shoot from during the range, even if it requires some accomodation. For example, if someone wants to draw from a fanny pack they wear directly in front of their torso, and they're right handed, they get the far left shooting position, so they won't cover anyone during their draw. Ditto for a shoulder holster user ...
The thing is that while many folks may arrive at the range with different holsters for their weapons, not very many of them elect to wear them for the shooting part of the class. I don't press them for answers, bu those that do offer explanations seem to use a variation on the theme that they aren't "comfortable" trying to draw their weapons from holsters yet.
The words that tickle the hairs on the back of my neck are "I've never shot this gun before ...", but that's another subject.
Okay, so many cops & non-cops apparently simply don't ... or won't ... practice drawing and presenting their weapons in a reasonably practical manner.
Here's a public link that someo of you may find interesting, and some may find uninteresting ... It's the Uniform Crime Reporting program's report of Law Enforcement Officers Killed, and it's the 2001 report, which covers from 1992-2001. It's in .pdf format, and it's long ... but there's some interesting information contained within it.
http://www.lelib.com/files/2001leoka.pdf
A couple of tidbits ...
At the bottom of page 15, you'll see that of the 594 officers feloniously killed with firearms (the accidental deaths are listed separately, further in the report), that 296 of them occurred within 0-5 FEET, and another 131 of them occurred within 6-10 FEET. That's close folks ...
Now, I've said in many threads that one of my most common off duty weapons nowadays, especially in warmer weather, is a S&W 642-1 J-frame carried in a jacket pocket when I'm on my motorcycle. Naturally, I can't achieve the same speed of drawing & presentation with that method of carry as I can with a belt holster, and it's not as "easy", either. It's a compromise ...
The practicality & feasibility of drawing and shooting from a moving vehicle, especially a motorcyle, is another subject entirely.
When I'm off the bike, though, and wandering around the small towns and rural areas where my wife and I like to go, I DO make sure I've adjusted my jacket as well as possible to make the potential drawing of my concealed J-frame as "easy" as possible for it being carried in a pocket. Nothing goes in the pocket with the gun, and the pocket is unzipped ... and if the jacket is removed, I carry it so the pocket is easily accessible to me, but it's not easily accessible to others, not is it likely to allow the unintentional appearance or loss of the gun. The spare ammunition is also carried in a front pocket, by itself, positioned for easy removal.
Naturally, whenever I wear a holstered weapon off duty, the draw and presentation is going to be much easier & faster.
AWARENESS is one of the critical aspects of effectively, legally carrying a weapon ... as is AVOIDANCE, for non-L/E that have the ability to avoid confrontation. Environmental awareness can help mitigate nasty surprises, as can avoiding circumstances which might present an increased risk factor ... but naturally, there are no guarantees.
I don't have knowledge of any professionally prepared reports that detail the circumstances involved in non-L/E shooting situations where speed of draw & presentation is discussed ... and I'd be happy to learn of any such reports if anyone else has knowledge of any.
In the meantime, I don't have any solid answers ... but diligent, frequent and proper practice (with an EMPTY weapon) is hardly ever a bad thing.
Best of luck ... the J-frames are great little CCW weapons. Although they DO require a LOT more practice in order for many folks to be able to effectively & accurately shoot them.