What states to obtain a permit from in order to conceal carry in the most states

With federal concealed carry permit reciprocity in the works, it occurred to me that one might be well served by calculating the best states from which to obtain concealed carry permits, as determined by how many states you can carry in with a permit from a given state. I researched the reciprocity of every state and determined the answer.These calculations take into account only the number of states in which the permit holder can legally conceal carry. They assume the permit holder is 21 years old or more, and do not take into account state population, state area, the fees for the permits, or whether the states you can visit border each other.If you want to obtain only one permit, obtain one from Idaho, Michigan, or North Dakota. All three are "shall issue" states. A permit from one of these states will allow you to conceal carry in 33 states if you do not reside in the issuing state1 and 40 states if you do. Only Idaho and North Dakota issue permits to non-residents; Michigan does not.Because of the widespread recognition of the above states' permits, a second permit changes little. By a search of all 1274 combinations, the only people who can conceal carry in 41 states with 2 permits are: a resident of Oklahoma who obtains Oklahoma and Illinois permits, and a resident of Michigan who obtains permits from Michigan and one of Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, or Rhode Island.No more thought is necessary, as exactly 10 states do not honor any out-of-state permits, and all the maximal two-permit combinations include one of those states. Of those states, 2 (California and Oregon) do not issue permits to non-residents. Therefore, residents of Oklahoma and Michigan can be licensed to carry in 48 states using 9 permits. Residents of other states will need a 10th permit.1 Seven states will recognize a concealed carry permit only if the holder is a resident of the issuing state. They are Colorado, Florida, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.Now for the boring part, citing my sources. Reciprocity data was entered into this spreadsheet. The two-permit combinations were checked using this program. You can find all my sources at the Alaska concealed carry reciprocity page, except for the states that do not honor out-of-state permits (which were sourced from the Washington link at the above address), and these states:ArizonaFloridaIndiana, section IC 35-47-2-21KentuckyMaineNevadaOhioOklahomaTexas via /r/CCW http://ift.tt/2giB5cH