I actually like to clean guns

[Petrol & Powder]

OK, I may be an outlier but there you have it.
The need to clean firearms was drilled into me at a young age. Perhaps because old corrosive ammunition was still abundant or maybe because guns were expensive tools that needed to be cared for; but guns were cleaned after use in my family.
I never saw the cleaning of firearms as a chore. It was like gun safety, it was just something one does all the time, every time.

Maybe I'm lucky or maybe I'm cursed, but there you have it.

 

[smokeywolf]

When it comes to cleaning guns, I'm a bit like a child on bath night. Play hob trying to get them into the bathtub, but then can't get them out. I see it as something that has to be done on occasion, then get into it and can't put it down until every square millimeter has been cleaned and if need be oiled.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

There are rare occasions when I just do not have time to adequately clean a gun. Even in those situations the bore gets punched with an oiled patch and the exterior gets quickly wiped down before the gun is put away.
For a shotgun that might be just a bore snake with some oil on the end and an external wipe down with an oily rag. That takes 45 seconds.


Most of the time the gun(s) are cleaned adequately and put up. Even that normal effort doesn't take much time.
Guns that are used frequently get just enough attention to prevent rust and keep any fouling to a minimum. Rimfire 22's are the exception and the bore may be left untouched so as to avoid that wild first shot from a clean .22 bore.

Guns that will be stored for long periods of time get a lot more attention before they are put away.

 

[dale2242]

Cleaning guns is my least favorite part of our hobby only next to brass prep.
I do clean and lightly oil mine when necessary

 

[JonB]

For me, it is much like many things in life, If I am in the mood to clean a gun, I enjoy it.
...and with guns, if I am not in the mood, I will spritz it with G96 and set it aside until I am in the mood.

 

[RicinYakima]

During the winters, I usually had a lot of down time and very little money. To keep me busy, I would clean every gun in the household even if they had not been shot that year.

 

[david s]

I've sort of come full circle on gun cleaning. When I was young it was more time I was allowed to handle and use my 22. In my 20's, 30's and 40's it was less of a priority. Now in my 50's and 60's I enjoy it again. It may not happen instantly but a careful and thorough cleaning gets done when I'm done with a particular gun. I have some hunting rifles that shift point of impact for the first shot or two if they start with a clean barrel. These don't get cleaned until the end of the season unless they get a real soaking and have to be refired.

 

[xsiv4s]

I do it for the smell (I may have a problem).