I know there are people that leave their rifles loaded for long times. I personally am not one of them. I have done the leave them loaded routine and normally it only lead to trouble.

First off, was the gun fired and then reloaded? If it was then you can not leave the rifle loaded. It must be cleaned before stored for extended periods of time.

If the rifle was loaded on a clean bore, normally the charge will not harm the rifle no matter how long it sits in the bore, but that can depend on the powder and how clean the rifle actually was. If the rifle was clean, the load can sit there a long time with no damage, but the load may contaminate itself and not fire off.

Personally I do not leave them loaded. This is a personal choice of mine. I'd rather clean the rifle every night and start on a clean bore then take any chances...