If it's a rifle I have not handled in a while I will go through it and give it a thorough wipe down and run a patch through the barrel.
If it's a regular then I just while it down and run a patch down the barrel.
I may give it a few practice shots to confirm zero
I never run a patch down mine before hunting. I verify zero then leave it dry.... tape the muzzle in inclement weather... an oiled/wet bore from a patch will change POI
After hunting seasons the guns get fully stripped, stock off, and throughly cleaned and checked. Months prior to the season they are shot and checked for zero. Despite using a torque wrench on the stock bolts, the zero almost always changes, usually minimally. Barrel is fouled and zero is checked. Hunting shots are usually cold, dirty bore. Once checked, the barrel does not get wiped down. Oil in the bore will change POI, maybe minimally, but it will change it. Two inches at 100 yards might not matter, but six inches at 300 yards surely does.
