[SleazyRider]

Never let the sun set on a dirty firearm.

A Patchworm can be had for about twelve bucks on Ebay or directly from the manufacturer, that cleans a dozen or so different calibers and fits into the jacket of one's hunting togs. To pull a wet, and then a dry, patch through the bore of a rifle requires very little time and effort. The manufacturer provides patches soaked in Ballistol, which is as good a product as any.

The other kind of dirty comes from handling one's guns and the corrosive residue (salts, perhaps) that are deposited on the metal. I bought a few dozen pairs of cotton archival gloves for cheap on the Internet, and use them whenever I admire, a.k.a. fondle, my metal firearms. Then I spray a light coat of WD40 on a cotton rag, wipe them off, and put them away untouched by human hands. Yup, I'm anal.

I still wash my car by hand, floss my teeth every night before turning in, and I never let the sun set on a dirty firearm.

[60tbird]

I always clean my guns after each use. When I was shooting High power matches I have cleaned my gun between relays but could not tell any improvement because I had cleaned it.

[ectomorph]

I shoot at least once a week rotating all my guns and I run a bore snake through after each session. I do a complete cleaning once a month.

[Retiredfireguy]

I try to clean my guns every time I shoot them. The exception is my carry gun...It gathers a lot of pocket lint, so I tend to clean it more often. I like Break Free. Never use brass brushes or harsh chemicals, if I can help it.

[Doc Neeley]

I clean my firearms after each use. Bore brush, hoppe's on a patch until the bore is clean. Toothbrush or bronze brush on actions to loosen everything, then a wet patch and pipe cleaner to get into the hard to reach places. I'll wipe down the external metral with one of the available treated cloths to remove fingerprints and prevent rust.
When I acquire a firearm I'll also make sure I remove all rust by using a 0000 steel wool pad and wet it with Hoppes and gently work on the rust until it's as clean as it will get.

[FlyboyLDB]

I was always taught to clean after shooting. Accurate information or not, I have always cleaned following any amount of shooting. Does not matter what type of firearm - rifles, shotguns, pistols, revolvers.

[Clem]

I am one of these guys who is anal about cleaning guns. You can blame my Marine Corps training. I like to use a bronze brush on a Parker-Hale plastic coated rod and Shooter's Choice to clean my rifles and handguns. It may take me a week to get around to it, but every gun that gets fired gets cleaned before being put away or reused on the range. I like to use an cordless electric drill to clean revolver cylinders. Spinning a bronze brush in the (typically) stainless chambers not only gives them a good cleaning, but also tends to burnish and polish the chambers as well. I measure the chamber throats of all my revolvers so I know if they are too large or too small and will tend to cause leading in the forcing cone. I match the chamber sizes with reamers to minimize leading and carefully clean the barrels to remove any leading that does accumulate.

[quarterhorse13]

i am SUPER picky about my guns. if it gets shot, it gets cleaned! if it sets for 2 months, it gets cleaned, if i carry it a lot, it gets cleaned. i have always been this way, i dont know why. i guess since i was 16 or so, i have heard too many senerio's about weapon malfunctions because of it being dirty. im not sure if anyone else has this " disease" but i would rather have a clean gun when i need it, instead of picking one up and hoping it wont fail.

[vistar]

It depends on the gun and its use. For elimination of varmits near our home in the woods, I keep a scoped 22 cal semi-auto carbine handy. Firing low-velocity ammo (feeding those rounds is another subject) I clean the gun with Hoppes 9 about 4x per year. For field arms (shotgun/rifle) they get inside-out scrubbing with Hoppes after every use and a very light coating of gun oil.

[mobjacker]

Generally- after each use. If I am out for a weekend, that means mon or tues.

Hopies 9 on 2-5 patches, depending on how they look.

Followed by several new patches until clean.

Then 1 oil patch for storage.