I own several Ruger revolvers, DA & SA.
I have carried them concealed for long periods of time, I carry them openly in the wilds.
Never since 1976 when I got my first one have I ever noticed that transfer bar rattling unless I shake one of the guns & actively listen for it.
The rattle does not spook animals, it is not noticed by anybody when holstered, I can't hear it.
It's a total non-issue.
If it rattles when you deliberately make it rattle, or if it doesn't, it's just a gun with a transfer bar that may make some noise now & then if you shake it, or may not. Many do, many don't.
As long as the action cycles when you pull the trigger or cock the hammer (on an applicable model), that's the only part of the transfer bar experience (aside from relatively rare breakage) you need to spend time thinking about.
I can understand a new Ruger owner discovering a rattle & wondering about it if unfamiliar with the design, but once knowledgeable, the Ruger Rattle's placed firmly in the Irrelevant Bin & forgotten about.
People will not be staring at you as you jingle your way through the grocery store, walk down the sidewalk, or stand in the ticket line at the box office.
All Smiths with the modern sliding internal hammer block have the POTENTIAL of rattling that piece, too.
Same deal- having carried Smiths concealed & openly for many years, any minute rattle they may ever have produced was never noticed by me & I never saw any signs whatever that anybody else noticed it either.
Working constantly around other cops also carrying Smiths, I never noticed any of them rattling.
As far as worrying about the transfer bar being broken goes, if the trigger pulls, the cylinder rotates, and the hammer falls normally, it's extremely unlikely the bar's broken.
To confirm, after doing that basic function test, hold the EMPTY gun with the muzzle straight up, insert the ERASER end of a pencil in the muzzle & let it bottom out in the chamber, and pull the trigger.
The pencil should leave the bore.
If it does not move, no energy is being transferred from the hammer through an intact and properly functioning transfer bar (that's why it's called a transfer bar) to the firing pin. That would indicate a possible broken bar, so would the action tying up during a dry-fire cycling test due to the top section of a broken bar jamming things internally.
If your gun rattles when you shake it, or doesn't, neither condition is cause for panic, or for calling Ruger.
Denis
Extremely easy to function test.
