Me, I am guilty of it with my air guns and somewhat on my 22 LR guns. I used to clean them religiously years ago.
The only time I clean a barrel is on a new rifle and when I do a tune for someone. I've got rifles with over ten thousand pellets through it that have never been more accurate. Use good quality pellets and they keep themselves clean.
Wow Ed, I have files for targets from various types of matches but the oldest is probably only 3 or 4 years old. I'm impressed that you've been able to retrieve targets over 20 years old.
I like to keep mine clean. Probably overkill. Come to think of it, I do other silly things like clean my lathe bed, brush away accumulated sawdust from my bandsaw. I’ll even go so far as to bathe myself sometimes.Wow, putting all that into writing made me realize I have been living with an undiagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder. I will seek help.