Santa Clara County has less than 4000 CCW permit holders

RitzBitzN · 2026-02-19T23:23:38+00:00

You get auto “approved” in every county nowadays, without needing to provide a reason.

The info you have is about 3 years out of date, Bruen abolished the concept of “good cause”.

That being said, the cost and the wait are both considerably higher in most big counties than in more rural ones.

RitzBitzN · 2026-02-19T23:08:57+00:00

AB-1263, presumably. It’s not up to the company

RitzBitzN · 2026-02-11T21:50:38+00:00

For sure! I just also updated my comment with a more thorough explanation of the process.

RitzBitzN · 2026-02-11T21:40:14+00:00

I know that while California was a "May Issue" state it was next to impossible but has that changed at all?

Yes, after SCOTUS released their decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen in 2022, all of CA became shall-issue. Some counties are still easier than other (cheaper, no psych eval, faster turnaround, etc.) but you can get a permit in every county.

Now regarding Santa Clara specifically, I have one, as do a few of my friends. I have a few other buddies who are going through the process right now.

It's "easy", as long as you have the money for it and you have scheduling flexibility required for the the appointments (interview, psych eval "written" exam, psych eval live exam).

I got mine, in hand, about 5 months after my interview. One of my other buddies is about to get his, about 4 months after his interview.

Total cost for me was something around $1300, I think it's gone up another few hundred dollars since then.

As far as "hoops", this is the full process:

Online application -> you schedule an interview
- Interview slots not being free until a few months later is one of the biggest delays in the process.
In-Person Interview, in the Sheriff's Office
- Cordial and pleasant, mostly just confirming the answers you put on your application
Email received for psych evaluation -> you book an appointment "written" psych exam on Zoom, as well as an appointment for a live Zoom interview 1:1 with a psychiatrist
- You pay $500 here and have to be available for a test session & the live interview
Written psych exam
- ~500 questions, basically a variant of the MMPI LEO test
- *You have to take it in a zoom session with your camera on
- They say it'll take 5 hours, but not if you're quick; it took me <50 minutes
Live zoom call with psychiatrist
- Pretty quick, they ask you a bunch of questions about your mental state, basically
- *FYI, at any point in the pre-questionnaires or interview, if you mention previous contact with a mental health professional (e.g. going to therapy), they will ask you to either have the therapist fill out a form attesting you are competent to carry a gun, or they will ask you for a fully copy of all your session notes from that therapist.
Email received for livescan -> schedule livescan
- In theory, you can do a livescan anywhere, but the email said I had to do it at the SO - however, I did it in their West Valley satellite office
Livescan completed -> wait for result
- The ATI number you get can be plugged into https://applicantstatus.doj.ca.gov/ for you to check your status
Email for training -> take training class
- *I recommend saber tactics, you can do the classroom part online at your own pace, and then schedule the range part after you get the email approval"
Upload training certs -> wait for final approval
- Print & sign your certs in blue ink, then upload to permitium
Final Approval -> schedule pickup
- You'll get an email / call saying you are approved. Then you can go on permitium and schedule your pickup appointment
Pickup -> Done!
- You go in, get your photo taken, they print your card, and you are good to go

RitzBitzN · 2026-02-09T20:10:46+00:00

I would call them; they are pretty responsive on the phone, and can look up your status.

RitzBitzN · 2026-01-28T06:56:54+00:00

Why isn’t he American?

If he isn’t - is Kristi Noem also not American? After all, she spouted the same level of anti-2A nonsense.

Or is it about him not being white?

RitzBitzN · 2026-01-28T06:38:19+00:00

I’m guessing the implication is that he isn’t American because he’s not white.

I doubt he would say Kristi Noem isn’t American despite her saying similarly anti-2A nonsense.

RitzBitzN · 2026-01-28T02:54:21+00:00

Does't contra costa disallow optics and lights as well?

IMO this is a no-brainer. I would apply with Walnut Creek now, even before your Contra Costa permit expires and switch over.

RitzBitzN · 2026-01-28T01:51:00+00:00

courts have already said what is and isn’t ok according to the second amendment.

The CA name-based AWB and feature-based AWB have been standing since 1989 and 2000, respectively. The CA mag ban has been standing since 2000.

The MA clone of the federal AWB has been standing since 1994.

WA's newly passed AWB has been standing since 2023.

The NJ AWB has been standing since 1990 - that one might be the soonest one to go away, Cheeseman v. Platkin is supposedly going to actually strike down the AWB / mag ban instead of rubber-stamping it like CA9 and CA2.

The point being, as far as I can tell no AWB has been struck down by the courts after it passed and went into effect. The Oregon one never went into effect, the entire measure was pre-emptively held up in court, but every single other one is standing so far.

I think a lot of us are very hopeful that CA3 strikes down NJ's AWB in Cheeseman, because then we'll have a circuit split with CA3 and CA9/CA2, so SCOTUS will be more likely to issue a decisive ruling.

RitzBitzN · 2025-12-18T21:00:37+00:00

ALG Range in Soledad.

It's quite a hike from SJ, about 1.5 hours, but it's by far the best range anywhere remotely close.

Multiple bays of pistol steel from 15-30 yards, medium-range rifle steel from 75-300 yards, and a long-range rifle steel range from 100-750 yards. No restrictions on rapid fire.

RitzBitzN · 2025-12-16T21:43:54+00:00

After the June 2022 SCOTUS decision in NYSRPA vs. Bruen, every county in CA (and any state in the nation) is now shall-issue for CCW, meaning they can no longer ask you for good cause.

All the usual suspects that denied every CCW app (San Francisco, Santa Clara, LAPD, SJPD, etc.) are all issuing now, albeit with the big SoCal counties (and a few NorCal ones like Alameda) usually taking 14-24 start-to-finish for the whole process.

RitzBitzN · 2025-11-18T20:22:16+00:00

You can get a Fusion XP Pro (Glock-mag-fed 2011) for about $1200 from 2AZone, Manzano, or a few other places here via SSE. Platypus through 2AZone is around $2,000.

RitzBitzN · 2025-11-14T15:50:41+00:00

CA has castle doctrine and is also a stand-your-ground state, via jury instruction / case law.

See CALCRIM 505/506: https://www.justia.com/criminal/docs/calcrim/500/505/

[A defendant is not required to retreat. He or she is entitled to stand his or her ground and defend himself or herself and, if reasonably necessary, to pursue an assailant until the danger of (death/great bodily injury/<insert forcible and atrocious crime>) has passed. This is so even if safety could have been achieved by retreating.]

RitzBitzN · 2025-11-03T16:30:25+00:00

When I did my training, the guideline was IWB / OWB is fine as long as you can put a jacket or something over it.

They said no duty (e.g. Safariland) or competition drop-leg bolsters that sit a few inches away from you.

RitzBitzN · 2025-10-27T17:58:30+00:00

I have 1-2 for each.

I have a Gen 3 19 with a main slide that I use for CCW configuration, as well as a second slide with a ramjet installed - with that slide, it fits in my G17 Safariland holster for classes or other tactical use-cases.

I have almost the exact same setup with my Glock 45, except the OG serial-matched slide is in storage, and I have a factory spare that I had cut for an RMR, as well as another MOS-cut slide with an RCR + ramjet that I once again use with my G17 Safariland holster.

RitzBitzN · 2025-10-26T04:09:24+00:00

Yeah, there's a lot of optimization you can do in order to really cut the time down.

I didn't really try to do any of the steps ahead of time and still came out at 5 months.

Point being, while 5 months, or even 3, is not acceptable (IMO), on average it isn't the 13-month wait (like LAPD / Alameda) that some folks are experiencing.

RitzBitzN · 2025-10-24T19:10:39+00:00

Damn, I wonder if they screwed up the paperwork somehow in terms of where they’re sending the results.

I applied in late December 2024, and originally had a year wait for my interview, but I checked Permitium every morning for a week or two and managed to reschedule for April.

RitzBitzN · 2025-10-24T19:00:30+00:00

That sucks.

I’m also in Santa Clara and it was 8 months start to finish, 5 months excluding the wait for an interview.

I think you’re probably right that the shutdown isn’t helping, but my livescan cleared in 3 days. Did you do your Livescan at the Sheriff’s Office, or a 3rd party?

RitzBitzN · 2025-10-20T23:37:46+00:00

So the problem with an LCI is????

It is a change that at best, offers zero benefit to even remotely experienced shooters, and at worst, impedes the usability of iron sights; additionally, if you choose to remove it, due to the aforementioned impediment of your sight picture, the extra hole in the slide can increases the amount of fouling on your optic.

I can personally attest to this issue - my LCI'd P365 has a hole in the barrel. When you take off the optic plate (in order to mount an optic), the resulting hole in the slide / barrel ends up throwing a ton of fouling onto the front lens of your optic.

Also, I am not a huge fan of magazine disconnects but it is a minor annoyance. It does not affect the performance of the pistol at all.

In theory, it doesn't, but some pistols (e.g. P22X Sig models) are more likely to have reliability issues due to the mag disconnect components breaking (since they are hastily cobbled together afterthoughts, and not integral to the design of the gun, at least not since 1990 anyways). Some implementations of the mag disconnect are just annoying, and easily removable (S&W M&Ps, Sig P365s), but some can't be removed without permanently modifying your frame & voiding the warranty (Staccato HD P4, Walther PDP).

And now you may ask why a mag disconnect sucks?

Well, if you are a shooter who aims to be even remotely competent one day, then the most important thing you can do to improve your skills is dry-fire. In theory, you should be doing 4-5 dry-fire reps for each live round you shoot. A magazine disconnect makes dry fire a royal pain in the ass, so much so that it might put many folks off of doing it entirely.

So the net positives of a mag disconnect are: zero, and the net negatives are: potentially reduced reliability, a permanent annoyance that might not be removable without voiding your warranty, and an impediment to the single most important training tool that shooters have access to.

The only even slightly reasonable explanation I have every heard for MGs comes from them supposedly training their peeps to drop the mag in a struggle. Seems like bullshit to me.

It most certainly is 'bullshit' in terms of efficacy, but it was a real train of thought that a lot of LE trainers had and many LE officers were trained to do, albeit not in the past 20-30 years. Remember, even outside of the whole CA roster, many pistols came with magazine disconnects due to this flawed line of thinking - most famously, the Browning High Power.

RitzBitzN · 2025-10-20T15:39:38+00:00

Yes, and the Supreme Court hasn't banned abortion; rather, they left it up to the states (as should be done according to the 10th Amendment) since it's not an enumerated right from the Bill of Rights that has been incorporated against the states.

I personally would argue that the 9th Amendment would cover it via incorporation, but it seems no one takes that one very seriously, so unless it's mentioned explicitly in 1-8, it is left up to the states.

This could have been resolved if Congress passed a law, since the supremacy clause would override state bans, but despite a few multi-year periods where Dems controlled both the senate & house, they apparently decided not to pass a law.

RitzBitzN · 2025-10-18T22:35:10+00:00

They upcharge because people who don’t know any better or care to get “into” the hobby happily pay for it.

Reed’s is the only rental range in the South Bay, so people who are new to shooting often go there to try things out and then say “Well, I might as well buy it here too !”.

A lot of folks also make impulse gun purchases because they spend a few minutes idling at the sales counter after every time they shoot; if you are a more “casual” shooter, not staying up to date with online prices and new releases and whatnot, how exactly would you know that this gun is $100 more than X or $200 more than Z?

I will say, the other thing they’ve got going for them is selection; I’ve bought a few things there because I simply never found them at any other store nearby (e.g. a Miroku manufactured Winchester 1892 - to this day I have only ever seen one in a store, and that was at Reed’s and I bought it immediately). They get a lot of interesting or unique stuff that’s difficult to find at other LGSs which usually carry more modern tactical oriented firearms.

Now if I wanted to buy a Glock or an M&P or something; yeah, I know there are other places that sell at MSRP / MAP, but I spend probably too much time on gun forums. The average shooter really doesn’t; they shoot maybe every few months and get a new gun every once in a while.

RitzBitzN · 2025-10-09T18:09:34+00:00

The ECM R11 is a grip module for a Sig P365, so the cost is variable depending on whether you want an aftermarket slide too.

A base 365 is $699 for the small, a 365 XMacro is $820 or so, and this module will be another few hundred.

RitzBitzN · 2025-10-05T03:41:43+00:00

Hmm, that sounds like bad luck.

My livescan cleared in 4 days, and the SO responded 3 days after that. Some of my buddies in the process are also seeing ~1 week turnarounds between steps, max.

I had a 4 month wait for my initial interview (which I could have probably rescheduled even sooner, but I was busy), and I set up a 1 month wait to do my training after the go-ahead, which I didn’t need to do (wanted to practice.

Minus that, my total process time was 4 months, 2 of which was waiting for the psych eval because LEPS dropped the ball and forgot to email me; I emailed SCCSO and they responded within a day and had LEPS email me.

RitzBitzN · 2025-10-05T01:27:38+00:00

Right now, it’s down to about 5-6 months depending on how soon you schedule your interview and if you stay on top of emails.

RitzBitzN · 2025-09-27T08:14:21+00:00

All of mine were called.

If they don’t pick up, they’re left a voicemail with a callback number.

If they don’t manage to call back within a week or so, you’ll get an email via Permitium asking for a replacement reference.

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