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Really enjoy cleaning a gun if I have time to do it properly. Which isn't every time.
Also depends how many rounds go down the pipe.
Also depends how many rounds go down the pipe.
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I'll bet leaving that corrosive solvent in your bore is doing a hell of a lot more damage than leaving some normal fouling.I have found something that works for me. It is lazy but good (enough).
First it depends on your gun's condition. Let's assume you did not put 1000 rounds through on a dusty dirty day. I do clean the bore every time I shoot. This way you avoid rust in your barrel, which is a bad thing.
Right after I am done shooting (ideally at the range) I pull a dry boresnake through a couple times. This is to get the carbon out before it hardens up (notice how easy it is to clean the necks of your brass if you don't let it set long). I don't put solvent on the boresnake because it would be a mess and the brush wouldn't last long.
At home I get my Otis kit and pull a patch of Hoppes #9 through. Maybe twice, just want to get the barrel wet. I stick the wet patch (still attached to the rod) in a small ziplock bag. Then I walk away.
Next day if I think of it, I get the patch out, put some more #9 on although it is still wet, and pull it through. Put it in the bag again and walk away.
Next day, repeat. When the patch is getting seriously grungy I might spring for a new patch. Some times I pull a dry one through and then pull a brush through, but not always (I do not use wet brushes, which seems extravagant to me). After that I find an old grungy patch, put more #9 on it, and pull it through (first patch after a brush is a mess anyway). Then I get a clean patch with more #9 and pull it through. Then walk away.
How do I know when it is clean? I do not bother checking with a clean dry patch. Instead, each time I use the Otis "rod" I wipe it down with a paper towel. If the wipedown shows anything but the color of clean #9, I just keep going. I tend to leave the barrel wet in the safe and each time I shoot I pull a dry patch through first (I had a bad experience with leaving a barrel dry over a long period).
It might take a week or two to clean the gun, but it wasn't going anywhere anyhow. Total amount of time spent is small. Oh, I wipe down the outside with CLP before putting it in the safe.
The jarhead in me makes me clean it every time.