Howdy from Fresno

[MCassle]

Howdy,

My name is Matt. I'm 36 & live in Clovis. Work at a local power plant, been doing power plant work since I was 19 so it's about I'll I know lol. It's a great industry to be in, love my job.

Been thinking about applying for a CCW to stay legal, and after making a call today to a Fresno Sheriff, decided to do some more en depth research on the subject. A thread on Calguns.net mentioned this site for information on CCW in CA, so naturally that lead me right here

The phone conversation this morning with the Sheriff included questions about 'why' I would want a CCW. As a life NRA & CPRA guy, I'm sure most if not all of you can understand the 'reasons' for wanting a CCW. But I don't think exercising our rights to protect ourselves is in & of itself a 'just cause' reason.

I read on a faq not to post your own specific reasons for carrying, so I won't but I do have a couple of perfectly legitimate reasons to pursue a CCW, at least imo. I shared my reasons with the LEO and he took down my name & address, said he would mail me the forms to fill out, and then after that schedule a face-to-face type appointment. Not sure what comes after that.

I'll be doing a whole lot of research/searching on this site about how to navigate the CCW waters, but if anyone has general advice or specific to Fresno county I'd sure appreciate your time.

Thanks for listening, and look forward to being a part of the forum.

Matt

[hygyliac]

Welcome to the Forum. As you have probably found out in your reading thru the various threads our SME is CCWI. Good luck with your application, please keep us informed as to how it goes. Your posts will help others in your area who are thinking about applying. Welcome again.

[Mad Geek]

Welcome to CalCCW neighbor!

We have a Fresno County FAQ that you may or may not have already seen. It kind of lines out what you may see as you navigate through the process.

Glad you found us and joined the community.

[YankeeDog]

Hiu and welcome
YankeeDog in Surf City

[spc]

Welcome board MCassle. Plenty of info here. You made a good choice to investigate further before applying and if you do some homework and ask a few good questions you opportunity should improve greatly.

spc

[EM2]

Welcome to the forum.
The http://www.calccw.com/Forums/county-...no-county.html is accurate and the whole process was very easy.
I went through the process last year in July without any problems.

Before Sheriff Mims was elected and during a debate between her and the other guy, I pressed the question to them both as to what each would consider "good cause". Sheriff Mims answered that what ever you, as a law abiding citizen, consider good cause would be good enough for her.

Now I can only speak to my own experience, but I had no problems getting my permit, and I'll tell you right now that I do not fall into any of the traditional "good cause" categories. I do not carry large amounts of money, not connected politically, do not own my own business, etc.

My recommendation is to get the permit application, fill it out, get an opinion from CCWI as to the wording of your good cause, try to avoid a good cause that refers to your employment because you will then be obligated to get a letter of permision from your employer, relax during the interviews, and have fun with the whole experience.

I took my CCW class at 'The Range' The Range Pistol Club - Fresno, California. The class was well put together and very informative. Bring with you in a locked case the handguns you will be putting on your permit and at least 50 rounds of ammo.

GOOD LUCK!!

[gr8fatman]

Welcome aboard.

[tanker22]

Welcome aboard. You'll find the people at the Sheriff's Office will work with you. There are the normal hoops to jump through, but if you appear sensible and mature, you'll not have a problem. Patience.....

[mcholak]

I got my permit under Sheriff Pierce, but I think these questions are designed to throw off anyone who isn't serious and just wants to carry a gun. If you have no prepared response for that question, it would probably be a strike against you. I don't know anyone that has applied and not been granted. Perhaps my circle is "more qualified" than others, but I doubt that. I've found everyone at FCSD to be very good to work with.

Best of luck to you.

[MCassle]

Thanks everyone! Appreciate the replies

I know of two people that have CCW permits, but both are small business owners here in Fresno who at times carry a lot of cash. They both have had there permits for many years. Reading up on good cause throughout this forum has me now wondering if my reasons will be valid. I'm going to draft up a GC response and solicit some help here (via PM) to see if I have a snowballs chance.

Another problem I may have, is that I was a victim of 'identify theft' by my loser druggy step-brother many many years ago. He got caught up in meth in Las Vegas, and then when arrested would give my name to the LEO His first name is also Matt, what a pos for doing that to me. My family had hired a lawyer to help clear my good name, but all of this may pop up on a background check. We're talking Felony's here with a capital F. Of course I will disclose all of this to the Sheriff during the interview process. I am not sure on exact dates since this has been so long ago and I've really tried to forget about it. Is there any type of 'pre-background check' service the common citizen can use to check there own background? I really want to have my facts straight on this particular issue, such as dates & types of crimes my step-brother was using my name for.

My own background included a wet wreckless and a disturbance of the peace when I was 19 or 20, young dumb and full of you know what. Manged to pick up a speeding ticket about five years ago. Other than that, my nose is clean and I consider myself a responsible citizen. I'm 36 now, married with three daughters.

I do not have a firearm designed for the purpose of concealed carry, and I think I need to at least have an idea of what I want, if not already have the firearm purchased and in possession. Both CCW individuals I mentioned above use a S&W model 642, which seem to be pretty popular choice for concealed carry from all the threads I've read on the topic.

The Range is the place where I am going to go to pursue this. Never been there, but with an indoor pistol range and classes on CCW, I imagine I can't go wrong by starting there. EM2, do you recommend a full membership at that range? I was thinking, if The Range is anything like an indoor range I belonged to when I lived in Bakersfield, you can rent firearms to try out. That would be an excellent way to determine a proper CCW firearm that will work for me.

I'll start another thread once I receive the 'thick envelop' in the mail, and keep a simple timeline & progress report going.

Matt

[EM2]

I am not a member there and have been there on only a few occasions.
You can shoot there without being a member, and they do rent firearms to try out.
They also offer a wide range of services, including classes for the Utah CCW permit, fingerprinting, etc.
You can also join clubs within The Range Pistol Club.

Please be sure if you are bringing a pistol with you to transport it in a locked case if it is not on a CCW, they are located right next to a CHP headquarters building and they are not shy about enforcement. I saw a guy come in once with his handgun loose not in a locked case and they gave him an ear full right in front of everyone.

The owner is a guy named Ron Saul and he is a lawyer who speciallizes in firearms laws. If he is there when you go you may be able to seek help from him concerning your good cause statement. He keeps in close touch with the sheriff and knows a few things about how the process works.

Good luck with your application.

[NikNak]

Welcome .. you are where you need to be. Good Luck.

[toolrulez]

Originally Posted by MCassle

Thanks everyone! Appreciate the replies

I know of two people that have CCW permits, but both are small business owners here in Fresno who at times carry a lot of cash. They both have had there permits for many years. Reading up on good cause throughout this forum has me now wondering if my reasons will be valid. I'm going to draft up a GC response and solicit some help here (via PM) to see if I have a snowballs chance.

Another problem I may have, is that I was a victim of 'identify theft' by my loser druggy step-brother many many years ago. He got caught up in meth in Las Vegas, and then when arrested would give my name to the LEO His first name is also Matt, what a pos for doing that to me. My family had hired a lawyer to help clear my good name, but all of this may pop up on a background check. We're talking Felony's here with a capital F. Of course I will disclose all of this to the Sheriff during the interview process. I am not sure on exact dates since this has been so long ago and I've really tried to forget about it. Is there any type of 'pre-background check' service the common citizen can use to check there own background? I really want to have my facts straight on this particular issue, such as dates & types of crimes my step-brother was using my name for.

My own background included a wet wreckless and a disturbance of the peace when I was 19 or 20, young dumb and full of you know what. Manged to pick up a speeding ticket about five years ago. Other than that, my nose is clean and I consider myself a responsible citizen. I'm 36 now, married with three daughters.

I do not have a firearm designed for the purpose of concealed carry, and I think I need to at least have an idea of what I want, if not already have the firearm purchased and in possession. Both CCW individuals I mentioned above use a S&W model 642, which seem to be pretty popular choice for concealed carry from all the threads I've read on the topic.

The Range is the place where I am going to go to pursue this. Never been there, but with an indoor pistol range and classes on CCW, I imagine I can't go wrong by starting there. EM2, do you recommend a full membership at that range? I was thinking, if The Range is anything like an indoor range I belonged to when I lived in Bakersfield, you can rent firearms to try out. That would be an excellent way to determine a proper CCW firearm that will work for me.

I'll start another thread once I receive the 'thick envelop' in the mail, and keep a simple timeline & progress report going.

Matt

My situation is very similar to EM2. I don't know if you started the other thread, but I would love to hear your progress.

I am 100 percent that if all you put is "I want to protect myself and/or my family" that Mimms would OK it. As long as your record is clean then the process is a snap. And similar to you I had a drunken in public and underaged drinking, just disclose it as the interviewers understand we all do dumb things at a young age.

My good cause was also not traditional imho, and the entire process start to finish took 7 weeks.

I also took the class at The Range, a guy named Wil. taught it, and he is awesome, I learned a lot. The Range really goes out of its way for CCW's. I highly recommend getting a membership there and practicing regularly.

I do stongly urge you to seriously consider if this is what you want, as it is a big responsibility and takes big life changes. It takes a lot of dedication to not get lazy and carry it all times, something you should do if you go through the process.

It took a lot of will power, but I opted to not get the Utah permit tacked on, as I hardly ever travel out of state. Of the 3 I go too, Utah/CA do me no good, and of them does honor CA. It was tough to resist getting that sexy little Utah CCW, but I managed to pull it off.

[PirateQueen]

Welcome to the site.

[EM2]

Welcome to the site toolrulez.

I could't resist getting the Utah permit. As it turns out I traveled to Michigan via Illinios & Indiana to take my daughter to college. I traveled by plane to Illinios and was able to CCW in Indiana & Michigan with no problems.

I also got the New Hampshire & Pennsylvania permits just because. They were only $20 & $28.