Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week we took a look at some of the biggest mistakes when it comes to carrying concealed. If you happened to miss that article, be sure to click the link here to check it out. This week, I want to continue the list with some of the most common mistakes I see experienced concealed carriers make, which gets easier when certain things slip our minds throughout everyday life. Let's take a closer look at some of the biggest carry mistakes with our second part. Carrying Old AmmoOne of the most common traps I personally fall into is carrying older tarnished ammo that should have been replaced a year or more ago. This is a really common issue with people who carry the same gun for years without switching anything. The biggest issue is that, over time, moisture, debris and even racking and unracking the rounds out of the chamber can compromise the rounds inside your magazine, increasing the chance of a misfire. Typically, you should replace your self-defense ammunition every year to keep the rounds fresh and consistent. The easiest way is to choose significant dates like your birthday to make it easy to remember. I do this on both my carry ammo as well as my carry optic batteries to refresh everything all at once. Having a schedule to regularly switch out your consumable items really is the best route. The general cost of self-defense ammunition is still relatively low in the grand scheme of things; it ensures you have reliable ammo that will 100% work in a dangerous situation. Check and rotate your rounds when possible and make sure to come up with a plan to keep them in good shape so they can take care of you in a bad situation if needed. Proper MaintenanceWhile we are talking about maintenance in general, it's criminal how some people treat their carry guns after a year or two of carrying them. I have seen certain people with their carry guns covered in debris and lint from their clothing to the point where they cannot see through their red dot and when they cycle a round out of their handgun, you can hear the grittiness scraping as the slide moves. This is exactly what you don't want for your carry gun, but it's certainly more common than you realize. Carry guns naturally pick up lint and debris from everyday life. Whether it's dirt from being outside or moisture from sweat and the environment only to attract dust, dirt and lint onto the surface creating an incredibly dirty gun. Introducing your carry gun to different environments does have negative effects, which means your gun can get dirtier than normal if you're traveling or on the move fairly often. When it comes to actually cleaning your carry gun, I always say every 6 months is a good idea, but at a minimum you should be doing a deep clean where you disassemble your gun and use an air gun to blow out debris, cleaning and lubricating just to make sure everything is the cleanest and in the best shape it can possibly be. The golden rule is if you take care of your gun, then it'll take care of you if the time ever comes when you need it. Carrying When It's Convenient One of the most frustrating aspects I see with carriers of all experience levels is the fact they carry when it's convenient rather than adjusting to carrying consistently every single day. These folks usually carry based on emotion instead of being consistent. The usual response is that they only carry when they feel a situation may be unsafe instead of carrying every day, regardless of whether they're going to a local store or heading across their town or state for something specific. The issue with this thinking is the fact that you never know when you may need to protect your life. We will never get a heads-up notice or even a sign that something bad will happen until it's too late to avoid the situation entirely. Drawing your firearm is the last resort and we don't have all the answers to know not to go somewhere to avoid a deadly situation. We cannot pick and choose when danger comes into our lives; it's always good to try and mitigate risk by being consistently ready. Some people just don't want to come to terms with that concept, but it's the same idea as putting your seat belt on before driving because you never know when or if you'll get into an accident. There's no difference between the two. Overall ThoughtsMaking mistakes when carrying concealed isn't just for new carriers but can also happen despite years of experience because it's easy to forget to check basic aspects of your carry gun because daily life takes priority. Some of these mistakes I still make today and have to remind myself to replace my self-defense ammunition, batteries and anything else consumable. This isn't an article to criticize people or throw stones, but rather an opportunity to say no one is perfect and remind everyone to check your carry ammo and look over your gear in order to keep it running in the best condition possible.Let me know some of the other aspects you check when carrying year after year. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. If you have questions about carrying concealed or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week for another edition of Concealed Carry Corner.TFB’s Concealed Carry Corner is brought to you by GLOCK