“What’re your thoughts?”
Oh, Lord.
First off, I have been in the situation. I once answered the door at 12:30 AM and it was a cop seeking directions. (He said he knocked on my door because the lights were on.) I had a gun in my hand considering the time of night. Fortunately, before opening the door, I rested my hand, holding the gun, on the wall beside the door so that the cop never saw it. It looked like I was just leaning on the wall. It’s more nervous making in retrospect than it was at the time although I was startled and very aware of the gun when I saw the cop. I was in my late teens and this happened before things became what they are now.
I think many of the folks who say “never draw till you have to shoot” have the delusion that they are quick draw artists like the heroes in the old “B” Westerns. They seem to think they can give the bad guy the edge and out draw him. Those folks are probably more like the duffer in the old Westerns, the one the bad guy can let go for their gun first because the bad guy is a quick draw artist and can outdraw them.
For myself, if I wait till I know I have to shoot before I draw, I’m almost certainly going to get hurt. If I’m in a “situation” I want my gun in my hand. I might retreat from the situation, but I still want my gun in my hand. However, it won’t necessarily be pointing at anyone or even seen. My hand may be on it under my concealment or it may be moved from the holster to my pocket or hidden behind a package or coat or something in my other hand or I may have it hidden behind me or behind something else, but I want it ready. Admittedly, I don’t always get what I want and I may not have time to get it ready depending on how quickly my situation goes sour, but that’s what I want.
On the other side, I don’t want to assume that just because someone has a gun in their hand they are going to use it. There are a number of reasons why they might have a gun in their hand with no intention to shoot.
On the gripping hand, I am aware of the folks who think that you should only draw if you are going to shoot and that if someone sees me with a gun in my hand for any reason they might be one of those folks and believe that because I have a gun in my hand they are in danger, even though they aren’t, and either draw and shoot me or force me to shoot them. (I hope you get the idea because I don’t feel like fixing that sentence right now.)
A lot depends on the situation. And “The default setting for the Universe is ‘complexity’”.
Will that do?