Pat alluded to this earlier, in noting that one could have
two pistols...identical except one being checkered...to
permit one to have a checkered carry gun and a smooth
"school" pistol. This is a good plan, in that it provides one
an excuse to buy another pistol
. Seriously though, the
degree to which one's hands suffer from checkering
is
different when firing, say, 1500 rounds over 5 days versus
firing 100 once a week in skill-maintenance drills. Both are
different than a less-than-a-full-magazine usage to save
one's life on the street.
IMO, checkering offers some advantages in the last two
scenarios, related to offering a secure grip. It becomes a
nuisance only when shooting a high round round over a
short time, as in attending a shooting school. Perhaps this
is a case wherein the notion of (very slightly) different tools
for different jobs applies.
I think any experienced practical pistol shooter would agree
that--checkered or not--the pistol needs to be well-dehorned
and devoid of sharp sight blades, pointy safety levers, and other
edges that cut and abrade hands, holsters, and clothing. There
are also other forms of texturing that can be applied to the pistol's
butt--stippling, serrations, "scallops", even skateboard tape--that
vary in their degree of abrasiveness.
Lastly, bear in mind that a textured frontstrap can be covered with
rubber wrap-around stocks if a marathon shooting session is
anticipated.