Among those is the Taurus 85; first introduced by Brazil's top gunmaker in 1985, this small-size revolver has been upgraded all through the years to match the evolution of the needs and tastes of shooters worldwide, but its core design remained basically unchanged.

The baseline variant of the Taurus 85 is known on the European market as the "Defender", available in a blued and a bright polish stanless variant. The frame is manufactured out of steel, but the revolver is also available with a polymer or titanium alloy frames.

The five-shots cylinder and the 2" barrel are also manufactured out of steel. The grip is the only component that's manufactured out of composite material; it's rubberized, and sports gripping surfaces on both sides.

Aftermarket grips for the Taurus 85 revolver are also available from a plethora of manufacturers and distributors, given the popularity of the design – particularly in the United States, where it remains one of the top sellers in its category.

The Taurus 85 Defender revolver offers an "ultra-fast, ultra-reliable, lightning-quick" double-action trigger with the possibility to cock the hammer manually for single-action operation. A transfer bar dubs as an automatic safety feature, preventing the hammer from striking the firing pin unless the trigger is pulled fully to the rear.

It's no wonder: the Taurus 85 is a mainstay on the international concealed carry market, and is heavily reminiscent of the classic Smith & Wesson designs that dominated the American market for decades.

The cylinder push button is located on the left side of the frame, just behind the the blast shield. The cylinder is unlatched by pressing the button forward, just like in any Smith & Wesson revolver.

But exactly because they are normally used in defensive situations, it is very important to be able to use them in double action, althought they can be used in single action also.

Anyone having had the possibility to shoot a revolver knows that double action rapid fire shooting is not somthing you can improvise, especially with short barreled, small size revolvers. Double action shooting with this kind of revolvers needs a lot of training and experience.

In short words, instinctive rapid fire double action shooting is difficult and the recoil is an issue. But at the end of the story, there is one valid concept: if you want to use a firearms for sel defense purposes, you have to train yourself and know your gun. 

The Taurus 85 is definitely one of the very few models that a first-time buyer should seriously look at when selecting an affordable and easy to use personal defense gun.