Quick Draw: Difference between revisions

Because the trope is so well evolved, there are many refinements. Guns and holsters are commonly altered to make the quick draw more effective. Subverting the quick draw by removing an adversary's ammunition before the showdown is a well-known ploy. Shooting from the hip is a way to improve the speed of the draw at the expense of accuracy. You may also have the firearm in an [[Nothing Up My Sleeve|apparatus that sends it directly into your hand]].

 

{{examples}}

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* ''[[Golgo 13]]'' has a notoriously quick draw speed. In one episode, a hitman measured it at 0.16 seconds.

* ''[[Trigun]]'' has an episode called "Quick Draw", in which Vash and Nicholas enter a quick draw competition to give the reward to a family in need. Vash being [[Thou Shalt Not Kill|Vash]] and Nicholas being a priest, both are opposed to killing, but [[Technical Pacifist|they can manage]] [[Just a Flesh Wound|nonlethal shots]]. One gunman uses a particularly novel trick; he wears his clothes backwards and uses a [[Latex Perfection]] mask to pretend he's walking backwards before the draw when he actually never faces away from his opponent, so he doesn't have to turn around to shoot.

 

* [[Sergio Leone]]'s Spaghetti Westerns are also famous for this. [[Clint Eastwood]]'s Man With No Name has been known to take out four men in one draw, and the climactic showdowns are something to watch. Especially the final showdown in ''~The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly~'', which had all three principal characters facing off in a graveyard clearing.

* ''[[Desperado]]'' is an neo-Western, featuring a gunfighter who often produces two pistols [[Nothing Up My Sleeve|from his sleeves]].

* In quite a few ''[[Blazing Saddles]]'' scenes, the Waco Kid pulls off shots without visibly drawing his revolvers.

* Demonstrated in the film of ''[[Angels and Demons]]'' where [[The Dragon]] holds up a pilfered police badge to distract a pair of policemen, then brings up his pistol and guns them both down before they can react.

* ''[[The Magnificent Seven]]'' has [[The Gunslinger|Chris]] use this in his attempt to convince [[The Gunfighter Wannabe|Gunfighter Wannabe]] Chico to go home: he tells Chico to clap as fast as he can before casually drawing his gun between the closing hands and inviting Chico to match the feat.

* [[Deconstruction|Deconstructed]] slightly in ''[[Unforgiven]]''. Sheriff Daggett demonstrates to an author that he is indeed quick on the draw, but explains that accuracy goes out the window and it's all next to useless unless the shooter keeps a cool head. He also recalls a man who tried to hard to draw quickly and ended up shooting himself in the foot. Demonstrated in the finale where Munny {{spoiler|does ''not'' rapidly gun down Daggett's men with a flick of the wrist, but instead draws and kneels down, deliberately aiming and gunning down the terrified Mooks who all miss him in their panic}}.

* Parodied in ''[[Toy Story]]'', with Woody telling an Etch to draw, followed by him drawing a picture of a gun.

* Subverted in ''[[Rio Bravo]]''; when asked why he carries a rifle, Sheriff Chance ([[John Wayne]]) replies that he found there were lots of men faster with a pistol.

* Jimmy Ringo in ''[[The Gunfighter]]''.

 

 

== Literature ==

{{quote| "I saw him fire one shot in warning...no, actually I didn't. It just sort of...happened" --Sir Norris}}

* Western novels, such as the works of Zane Grey and [[Louis L'Amour]], are rife with detailed multi-page descriptions of the execution of the quick draw. Noir detectives also are adept at it, which is probably not surprising given their Western heritage.

* Roland from ''[[The Dark Tower]]'' novels. According to his teammate, Eddie Dean, he is so fast, that "he could almost have eaten a hamburger and drunk a milkshake before beginning his draw".

* Morgan Kane, from the book series of the same name, is said to draw and fire in 1/5th of a second, making him one of the legendary gunslingers of the Old West. He is, however, knowledgeable enough to know that his accuracy is sacrificed in a quick draw, so he usually fires more than once.

* Jack Holloway in ''[[H. Beam Piper|Little Fuzzy]]''. Someone cried a warning, he turned, going for his pistol, and saw a [[Mook]] pointing a gun at him. As two different people commented afterward, pulling a gun on Jack Holloway is simply a way of committing suicide.

 

* In ''[[Justified]]'' US Marshall Raylin Givins is quick on the draw and shoots to kill.

* In the Jesse James Vs. Al Capone episode of ''[[Deadliest Warrior]]'', Champion Gunslinger Joey Dillion (who was testing weapons for the Jesse James side) was able to draw and accurately fire his [[Guns Akimbo|twin Co]][[Revolvers Are Just Better|lt revolvers]] in a quarter of a second in contrast to the Al Capone expert who took half a second to lift and fire his [[Cool Guns|Tommy Gun.]] {{spoiler|The Tommy Gun still got the edge due to [[More Dakka]].}}

* In an episode of ''[[The Adventures of Brisco County Jr]]'' Brisco not only outdraws an opponent but puts his bullet right down the barrel of the other shooter's gun before the man can fire.

* Michael Westen of [[Burn Notice]] prefers not to kill, but on one occasion he drew his gun so quickly he killed a man who already had his weapon drawn and aimed at Michael.

Texas Red had not cleared leather fore a bullet fairly ripped<br />

And the ranger's aim was deadly with the big iron on his hip" }}

{{quote| ''My circuits slow;<br />

I'm not scared anymore.<br />