Okay, for any given one of you, do you think you could deploy your gun faster if it weighed, oh, let's say 15% less than it does now, with no change of balance or physical dimensions or concealment method or any other variables?
Yes and no, or it depends. This isn't as cut and dried as one might think. The heavy and stable vs. light and fast debate has raged on for decades when shooters discuss the "shootability" of a handgun. For the sake of discussions let's consider weight as it realtes to the draw stroke a part of the "shootability" equation.
I shot an IPSC open division pistol for a couple of years that was quite heavy. The gun had a 9 ounce tungsten magazine well from Beven Gramms and a tungsten guide rod. I removed the tungten and downloaded the magazine when I shot steel Challenge. Why did I put the gun on a diet? Simple because the pistol was faster to draw without the tungsten. Was it fater to index? Nope. In this case, the weight reduction was more than 15%.
Let's move to a more common pistol. Let's say my Limited 10 gun, a Les Baer Premier II. I shoot IPSC with a 10 round magazine and I also use a tungsten guide rod. Is my draw faster with a standard recoil plug and one round in the chamber with an empty 7 round magazine. No, there is no difference at all. Now let's go to my lightweight commander sized pistol at 28 ounces. Is the lighter gun with an empty magazine faster to draw than the full size 1911 with a full magazine of 230 ball and the tunsten rod? Nope, it's not any faster.
Let's talk about my Glock 26. Is the gun faster to draw with one round in the chamber and no magazine than fully loaded with 12 rounds? No it is not. Would the gun be faster if it weighed 12 ounces empty instead of 20 ounces? I honestly believe I would be slower to the first shot and here is why.
When one considers the mechanics of a super fast draw, we find the time to the gun isn't as important as what happens once the grip is formed. Slapping leather doesn't make you substantially faster, popping the pistol quickly out of the holster is what makes us fast. Physics is physics and once the inertia is quickly over come, the heavier pistol will actually want to stay in motion on a line to the target better than a light whippy pistol. Yes, if the gun is too heavy we run out of steam, but too light and another set of problems will surface.
Another key to getting a shot off very quickly is to fire the gun at the very instant the gun reaches the end of the draw stroke. I can ease a 1911 to full extension and fire at the instant the gun is in alignment, even during the last part of the extension, because the pistol is easing to a halt and the stability of the gun (weight) helps. If you thrust a mouse gun to full extension the gun will bounce around like a tuning fork. A person can only move just so fast while still performing the mechanics of the draw stroke. Is a sub compact pistol faster to draw than a full size gun? Not for me.