I doubt that a dirty gun had much to do with its functionality, or the shooting itself really but...
In my case, my rule is that a gun should be cleaned and oiled EVERY time it gets fired, period. Shoot it once, it gets cleaned. Target practice and shoot 30 rounds, it gets cleaned.
How does it affect a gun?
I’ve gone out for target practice and emptied a 50 round box of CCI Mini Mags. Using both a Marlin 39A .22 lever action rifle, and a Llama .22 semi auto pistol.
Not one misfire ever. Not one problem ever. I finally got rid of the pistol, it just wasn’t consistently accurate, but the rifle would hold a 2 inch group even if I went through 2 boxes, 50 rounds each. The firing and ejector mechanisms in the reciever would get pretty messy from carbon fouling, but the barrel never had any problems, and the ejector and trigger assembly never failed.
So a “dirty” gun would probably still work, but due to all the carbon buildup you would be creating unneccesary wear and tear on the firing mechanism if it was used several times, 200 or more rounds, withut being cleaned and oiled.
Some older “cowboy’ type guns might be a little more sensitive to mistreatment...then again, they were used on a daily basis by their contemprary owners, who might not have cleaned them more than once a month...Not that they were actually shot on a daily basis, the “wild, wild west” was a lot less wild than TV and movies have led us to believe. The official movie required “shootout at high noon” actually was very rare. Not many people were brave enough or crazy enough to stand in the middle of the street and let someone pull a gun and try it...
Just one of the myths perpetrated by hollyweird...if you watched Gunsmoke or virtually any western movie, you’d think it happened 3 or 4 times a day...the busiest man in town was the mortician...nope...didn’t happen.
In reality, many were probably a lot like me, my shotgun hasn’t been fired in about 15 years, except for 2 rounds a few months ago when I got and installed a new full choke barrel. I wanted to compare the full and modified barrels. But it is ALWAYS cleaned and oiled twice a year, period. Didn’t fire it for at least a dozen years, cleaned and oiled it twice a year. Time to do it again actually, it’s usually spring and fall...took the 380 out for some target practice a few days ao, 15 shots, cleaned it that night, ready to go again. Any of them, same thing. If I fire one shot, it gets cleaned. Period.
And what does that mean? It means I KNOW I can trust any gun in the place. I am absolutely positive I can pick up that shotgun (made in 1964, 16 gauge winchester model 1200) right now and it will WORK, no guessing involved. My 1940’s Springfield model 15, .22 single shot will WORK, any time I pick it up. Guaranteed, no guesswork, it will work, every time. Even the old POS RG 14 .22 pistol at least 30 years old will work, every time. (same pistol that shot Ronald Rayguns)
Was the gun baldwin used cleaned after they used it for target practice? I have no idea but even if it was dirty, chances are it would work well enough to still be deadly.
Baldwin simply ignored a couple of the most serious rules of firearm safety.
There is no such thing as an unloaded gun. Check it YOURSELF, to be sure. Period. If my father handed me any gun and I didnt immediately open the action and check the chamber, I’d get a serious ass chewing. Yes, it did happen...
Never point a gun at another human you do not fully intend to kill. Period. I’d get in big trouble if I even pointed my BB gun at someone else. No, that did not happen, I knew better.
Baldwin ignored more than that, but those were the main two. And even play acting, he should have gone through serious firearm safety training if he was required to use one.
In other words, just an idiot. Never should have been in the same building with a gun.
-PJ