I applied for my concealed pistol license today. In Washington state the process is very simple, you sign some papers saying you're not a felon, they run a background check and finger print you, and then you get the permit in the mail in a couple of weeks.
The process took about 30 minutes, it would have been much faster if there was more one than one finger printing machine. If there was no one else in front of me in the line it likely would have taken about 15 minutes.
I agree with what some others have said in that there should absolutely
not be any shooting tests to get a permit. There are already multiple police agencies in my area that actively try in the political arena to disarm citizens. Here is just a recent example of a police chief of a city that borders me to the south, who came out in support of a silly assault weapons ban:
Capitol packed for hearing on assault weapons ban | KOMO News - Breaking News, Sports, Traffic and Weather - Seattle, Washington | Local & Regional
If law enforcement officials such as this were given the power to force citizens to pass target shooting exams in order to get a permit (in Washington state you apply for your permit at the local sheriff or city police agency), I wouldn't be surprised if they designed tests with extremely high standards, likely ones that their own officers would have a hard time meeting. This is somewhat hypothetical, but I would prefer not giving them the power and therefore leaving the question unanswered.
The thing that bothered me the most however was the fingerprinting. It made me feel like a criminal just for wanting to protect myself and others. I know of at least a few people that have held off on getting a permit due to the fingerprinting because they "don't want to be in the system." Even though it bothered me, it was a sacrifice I was willing to make.
Whether I should even have to make that sacrifice is something I am still thinking about. For me, like some others have said, the benefits of not facing penalties for breaking the law, outweighed my desire for privacy.