My Lazy Gun Cleaning Habit Hasn’t Hurt Me (Yet)

The firearms community has wildly different opinions on how often guns should be cleaned. Some guys are obsessive — they’ll tear down and scrub after just 100 rounds. Others clean every few hundred rounds. I’m on the extreme opposite end.

I regularly clean a gun if it’s going to a match or some kind of formal accuracy test. Otherwise, my cleaning frequency is low. My 13-year-old shotgun has literally never been cleaned since I bought it, though to be fair, it’s only seen about 70–80 rounds in its lifetime. My main centerfire rifle gets cleaned roughly every 2,000 rounds (when I feel like it), and I’ve never seen any loss in reliability or accuracy.

The one exception is my Ruger Precision Rimfire Rifle. That rifle is picky. It starts having extraction and ejection issues once it gets dirty, so I give it a quick cleaning after every other range session. I just spray the action with Hornady One Shot, wipe down the bolt, and store the bolt separately in a Ziploc bag. It takes a few minutes, that's all.

When I do clean my guns, I go all the way — full disassembly, thorough cleaning, and proper lubrication. I’ve found the zero usually doesn’t shift, but I always re-check it afterward.

So far, my “clean when I feel like it” approach hasn’t caused any problems. But I’m fully aware that YMMV — your mileage may vary. Some guns and some ammo are much more sensitive to fouling than others.

What’s your cleaning philosophy? How often do you actually clean your guns?