As mentioned He didn't need to do that for the Taurus. It is a DA/SA anyway. Which would be better for followup shots if you could get back on target after firing full house 44 mag.

"M_a_x beat me to it. I would also add that if your handgun doesn't have this sort of internal safety mechanism you should probably not be carrying it. As far as I know all modern handguns do."

The old ruger flattop does need to be carried with an empty under the hammer. Safe to use as long as you do it right.
Load one, skip one, load the rest. You can keep a $100 bill in the empty chamber to pay for your casket if you are a gun slinger. Some of the old guns are stronger than the modern DA ones. You can't fire heavy loads in S&W like you can the old Rugers.
A transfer bar limits smoothness and trigger response a little bit.

The Ruger company will change to the more recent method for you, but the value of changed guns is less if you decide to sell.

You can still buy reproduction revolvers without transfer bars. I think some of them have different firing pins too.