The photo makes it look worse than it is, but does highlight what it is. A nice 19-3 snub, P&R, round butt, original grips with a Tyler T. It is configured exactly as it was when I obtained it.
This being SC, there's signs of spotting on the gun as you can see. The blue is also worn off on a portion of the backstrap where it looks as though a holster strap rubbed it. Probably carried by a right handed user, and carried more than it was shot.
I got it as part of a trade a while back.
Some years ago I came close to buying one of the final production 19 snubs (I forget what dash that would have been) but skipped it in favor of a Ruger Six Series which was half the price. I liked that Six Series snub.
I've had two other 19s and one 66 over the years. A nice nickel 19-2 that looked unfired, but locked up on me when I shot it. A gunsmith said it had a "burr" and charged me $25 to fix it. It seemed to work fine after that, but I later sold it. The other 19 was a 19-3 4" that I got for a decent price off Auction Arms. I sold it when I moved down here on the theory that a blued revolver wasn't going to be the best choice in this climate.
And then comes this one. Eh. It seems to handle well enough, and it's mechanically sound. But I find myself unable to think of a use for it. Ballistics wise, I keep thinking of the .357 Sig autos that I didn't keep - a P229R and a G32 - same basic ballistics, similar weight and size and double the capacity.
Talking about it locally, the most apt though cutting statement may have been "Trade it for a Glock, it's obsolete".
I don't know. Is it?
I most likely will find a new home for it locally, but it makes me wonder if climate and changing needs have caused me to outgrow my fondness for some older revolvers. I still have a pre-10 M&P, a 36, a 3" 31-1 etc... but I find myself wondering whether I'll find myself getting rid of them after the 19-3.
Is there anything I'm failing to see - other than being a classic of its era in a way, is there some niche that a Model 19 snub will still excel at ?