I was surprised to see Ohio was so far down the list. Our law started out pretty restrictive, with duty to inform, bars off limits, some screwy regs about not concealing while driving, and such, but that's all gone, now. They've improved it just about every year since it passed. They just passed another round, including a stand your ground provision, as well.
The article also dinged Ohio for poor reciprocity. There is one glaring problem, in that we can't carry in PA, one of our neighbors to the East. Otherwise, though, it's pretty reasonable. The Utah non-res permit only adds a couple of states anymore.
As for my carry history, I started carrying back before we had permits at all. At that time, there was a provision in the law which allowed one to carry "in a situation that would justify a reasonable man in going armed." For most people that was pretty vague, but since I was clerking in a gas station, alone, at night, only yards from a major interstate, I was pretty sure that even a pretty unreasonable man would feel justified in my shoes.
When the permit law did go through, I got mine shortly thereafter. The class, at the time, was 12 hours, on one long day, with a range session at the end. You had to hit a life sized human silhouette about two thirds of the time from a few feet. I forget the exact numbers, but it was a pretty easy test. Still though, some of my classmates struggled with it. The three best groups were shot by A) my dad, with his Highway Patrolman, B) me, with a 4" Model 10, and C) a lady realtor, with her scoped .44 Mag Raging Bull. Many of the rest might have been shooting shotguns. After that experience, I began to see the value of some required training. I'd like to have been able to show my competitive record and skip it, but it wasn't that trying an ordeal.
My real gripes aren't with Ohio, they're with the preposterous morass of regulations that the states' rights, piecemeal approach has gotten us. I travel for a living, now, and am liable to be sent to any of the contiguous states without much notice. The biggest hurdle is the virulently anti-gun states on the coasts, obviously. But even when traveling amongst friendly states, it's an enormous hassle to have to consult 700 road miles of law books every morning, to know what set of rules apply where.
Eventually, I did the risk analysis math, and concluded that I'm several times more likely to be hassled by a cop than a criminal. With the legal risks outweighing the physical ones, I eventually gave up trying to carry at work, even though it can take me to some pretty sketchy areas at times. That puts me in the ironic position of being well prepared to meet any threat that may arise, when on my personal time in rural Ohio, but facing the inner cities, rest stops, and other sketchy parts of the country unarmed.