"Burnt" barrels and the .17Rem?

[Jack]

Scalerman, not knowing the caliber, how many rounds the rifle has fired- and how rapidly those rounds were fired- it's hard to say if the barrel's burned out.
Any time you suspect a barrel is burnt out, a good bore cleaning is called for, as many 'burnt out' bores are just badly fouled.
There are as many cleaning regimens as there are shooters, so you'll get lots of answers.
But, the basics are:
1) start with a powder solvent to remove loose powder fouling. Like Hoppe #9, Kroil ( a penetrating oil), or a million other bore cleaning products labeled as powder solvents.
2) Then go to a copper solvent. Butch's Bore Shine, Montana Extreme, Shooters Choice, Barnes CR 10, Wipe Out bore foam are names of several popular ones that dissolve copper.
Patches will usually show a blue color if the bore cleaner is dissolving copper.
You can also use an abrasive type cleaner such as JB. ( it will not harm the barrel steel) JB coated patches are worked back and forth thru the bore, and will come out black, not blue.
Many people use a bore brush between periods of using copper solvent or powder solvent, some people don't.
I would strongly suggest a bore guide to avoid scratching up the barrel throat while you clean, and a quality one piece cleaning rod. (you'll get lots of opinions on the best equipment, too)
For whatever it's worth, I use a mix of Kroil and Shooters Choice as a powder solvent, and Butch's Bore Shine to remove copper. I also use JB on severely fouled bores. I use a bore guide every time, I use bronze brushes, and I use them often. All my cleaning rods are Dewey one piece, plastic coated rods.
There's the basic info that should get you started.