Is your Ruger like this?

Yep my old GP100 rattled too - nothing to be concerned with!

Both are normal to all kinds of revolvers. You're seeing where the cartridge mouths seat inside the cylinder, and you're hearing the hammer block.

Each of the barrels? You mean a thin dark ring in each chamber? That's from firing .38 specials. In a new one there should be a very slight darkening from the test fire.

I had a blued Vaquero like that, yeah. Had a cylinder ring right quick from a touch of bolt drag. Didn't effect performance at all, just made the pistol look a lot older than it was.

-K

mine is brand new as well (bad weather has kept me from getting to the range yet), but i also have a slight rattle when i shake it side-to-side and also has the "rings" you speak of. nothing to worry about.

i've attached a couple images for your viewing pleasure:

The "rattle" you are hearing is just the transfer bar mechanism. If it doesn't rattle you should be concerned. The "rings" are where the chamber narrows down to help guide the bullet into the barrel since the bullet is a smaller diameter than the brass casing. If the chambers were just bored straight through, you would get poor accuracy because the bullets could enter the bore at odd angles or crooked even. HTH

Just a note about the "rings". If you want to keep the gun looking new, keeping the "rings" clean can be a bit of a bear if you shoot 38 Specials in a gun chambered for 357 Magnum. The shorter case leaves a gap that fills up with burned powder, which can be a bear to clean out. It can get so bad that you can't load 357 Magnum rounds unless you first clean it.

I've gotten to the point that I never shoot 38 Specials in a gun chambered for 357 Magnum.

Oh, another thing I just thought of: if you do it, you can get a 357 Maximum case to use as a scraper. It is a little longer than the 357 Magnum cartridge.

I always hear that the transfer bar rattles in Ruger revolvers. It doesn't in any of mine. My Single Six and Blackhawk have transfer bars and the only thing that rattles when I shake them is the ejector rod and spring. Compress that and the guns are silent. My Security Six doesn't rattle. My GP-100 rattles, but when I cock it and mash the transfer bar with my finger it still rattles.

I don't know why transfer bars would rattle; there is a spring that pushes them rearward so they will clear the firing pin when you cock the gun. They don't just float around totally unrestrained.

Update: The transfer bar will rattle in my Blackhawk when it is cocked, but I have to shake it hard.

I compared your GP100 to mine, yours looks normal.

And yes that "rattling" sound is perfectly normal. I was curious about it too when I first became the owner of a Ruger revolver.

You'll love that thing though, once you get it broken in (should take about 180k rounds downrange ).