I’m in the process of getting a CCW permit. Going to class next week.
I have been a gun enthusiast for over 50 years. My wife and I are both senior citizens and retired. One of the reasons I am getting this is because my wife and I love the outdoors and we do a lot of hiking. Some of the places we hike are remote and desolate. We come across some other hikers who are out there to enjoy the day. But in today’s world with all the shit that is happening, you never know who we can run into. There are many other situations where I think because we are older citizens we are more vulnerable to bad situations. Having a handgun to protect ourselves makes us feel safer. Hope to God I will never have to use it.
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Exactly. I own property in Virginia, and carry there, and the only PITA restriction for me is not being permitted to carry into the official I-81 rest stops, so I just pull in and pee in a plastic bottle I carry for that purpose.
“Worth it” is highly personal 
I do like that I can exercise some of my 2A rights in NJ, although I am very impatient waiting for lawsuits to force NJ to broaden it recognition of that right (actually not a “right”, but a restriction on government power over the individual). I do hate needing to lock my gun up in the car for a 30 second trip into the post office, but there are lawsuits pending on that, as well. One consideration I have not yet seen mentioned is that PA non-resident concealed permit requires a permit from your state of residency. So, if you ever need to go to Philly after dark, for example, that requirement could justify the pain of obtaining a NJ permit all by itself.
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Well worth it to me! I need my NJ CCW to get my PA CCW! 20 bucks for 5 years in PA is a great deal! I refuse to enter Philadelphia without a gun on me! My Florida permit covers me in Delaware, so I can legally carry wherever I normally go! I’m Loving it! 
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Absolutely yes it was worth it! Waiting on my new app under the new regime. Currently at 67 days or so. As others have said, enabled me to get PA. And with UT/FL not many states I can’t carry, though not like I travel all that much, lol.
It was well worth it for me, both to allow me to have the permit, and to be part of the throng of gun owners signaling to the state that citizens wanted concealed carry. The state’s old position that “nobody here wants concealed carry, because nobody is applying for permits” back when you couldn’t get a permit was disingenuous, and now there is good data to prove it.
That said, my NJ permit expires in January, and I am relieved that I don’t have to renew it, especially since the cost is even higher now. Idaho is constitutional carry (open or concealed). You can get an Idaho CCW permit pretty easily, by applying at the DMV (!) and paying $56. Permit arrives in not too many days. It’s useful if you need a resident permit for reciprocity. I’m probably going to pay the $200 or so for an Idaho Enhanced Permit (it requires a day of training to include live fire) only because Washington state only recognizes the enhanced permit, and nearby Spokane, our closest ‘big’ city, has a serious crime and drug problem–fallout from the Washington brain trust’s experiment with legalizing all drugs several years ago. They’ve since put some restrictions back in place, but the damage was done.
Did anyone catch Evan Nappan’s podcast #197 awhile back? The ANJRPC newsletter pointed it out. A NJ applicant for a carry permit was going through the process, and one of his good friends who he used as a reference decided–as a joke–to fill out the reference form to state the guy should not be granted a permit as he was batsh*t crazy. The friend DIDN"T submit that, simply took a photo of his computer screen, sent it the his friend the applicant, then deleted the content of the form, filled it our correctly supporting his friend’s application, and hit ‘submit’.
The application was denied, and an investigation triggered, because it turns out, NJ uses keystroke logging to track everything entered in gun permit forms. They see any incorrect information that gets fixed before submission, and used that as a justification to deny the permit! I don’t recall if the podcast said if this ever got resolved, but Evan did point out that the state needs a warrant to install a keystroke logger on anyone’s computer, but it wasn’t clear if installing one on their web server was legal, when such use wasn’t disclosed in any way, and when the option of instead submitting a paper form had been taken away.
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Is it worth carrying in NJ?
Say that after starting the NYC process that I’m doing.
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Great point as other’s said about the NJ permit allowing you to get other states permits. As soon as I got my NJ CCW I went to Delaware County and got my PA CCW, then got fingerprinted by my local police and got my Florida CCW. If I’m traveling/vacationing in a state that’s covered I’m carrying (gets me 39 states). Only time I’m not is if we’re doing a quick trip with only carry on bags and not checking bags, which I wind up regretting most times
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looking at it from a financial perspective it wasn’t worth it but from a freedom and the ability to carry it certainly was’ gets you PA non-resident as well as other reciprocity. i was an original old system with the judge signing off and i’m getting ready to renew at my local PD. I’, going to wait until 5-6 weeks out so I wont feel bad calling police chief and asking why its not done by my expiration date. all my friends that renewed got theirs within 2 weeks so there is no reason mine shouldn’t. hope this gun free zone stuff is in our favor and nationwide gets approved. want to carry on NJT trains to NYC.
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Ditto, I do the same.
Keep in mind the new law gives them 90 days. Just got my renewal this week and it was 72 days. YMMV.
Good point xtors, and I’m sure we all agree that
3 months is unacceptable. But how could anyone’s mileage vary from a week or two to multiple months depending on the location? Our township isn’t exactly a bed of police activity, but yet it took you 2 1/2 months, especially since everything is online.
Sorry, but I can’t find the edit button to edit my previous post. For a few reasons, I feel it was definitely worth it to get my PTC, regardless of the cost and obstacles put in place. I had to qualify three times because the state kept changing the goal posts, without offering me any reparations.
I understand having to do the qualification twice due to the introduction of CCARE. Where did the third come from? To edit your post, click the pencil below and to the right to edit.
I qualified at Shooters 8/2022, requaled around 9/18 when ccare came out. Had to requal after 9/23 because of holster draw requirement. Permit issued through Mercer County court 1/12/2023. First permit had wrong SBI# so had to go back to court, second permit had restriction that I could only carry while working for Apex Security, so that one had to go back to court. Didn’t get the correct permit until beginning of February (they wouldn’t revise date). Bypassed my PD and went to Courthouse myself to get the twice corrected permit. They gave me trouble because there was only one photo left. I respectfully told the guy to give me the remaining photo since they wasted two photos by screwing up twice, told him to call the law clerk upstairs if he had a problem with it. He reluctantly gave me the last photo with the permit. Sorry for the long winded post.
Sorry to hear about what this evil state put you through! What can I say but Jersey sucks!
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Just venting some, don’t know if it’s incompetence or bias or both, but most of NJ needs to catch up with how it’s done elsewhere. I got my PA permit ($20/5 yrs.) in less than 2 weeks, and the clerk apologized for the delay because so many of us were applying. However, these are small problems considering all that’s going on in the world, sure does keep me praying though.
Yep, my PA took 2 days. Very nice people at the Delco Sheriff’s office.
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That’s where I went for my PA permit too. Delaware County Sheriff’s Office was awesome
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Stats on my first NJ PTC renewal
Total days from initial submission to receiving permit: 18
Total Fees: $229.98
NJSP processing calendar days (submission to handoff to local PD): 2 (all my references responded same day as submitted. Reference delay would factor in here if your references are slow to respond)
NJSP processing business days: 2
NJSP statutory fees: $68.00
NJSP service fees: $8.00
Local PD processing calendar days: 16
Local PD processing business days: 11
Local PD statutory fees: $150.00
Local PD service fees: $3.98
Comments: My local PD is “firearms friendly” and has a dedicated person for processing firearms applications who quickly responds to calls and emails. I’m “known” to them as I’ve done a FID change of address and multiple P2P applications previously.