since you've shot both, do you really see that much difference in shooting the 19 and the 34?
I know we get in to "longer sight radius" and what not, but I almost think I like shooting a 19 a little more.
What I've noticed.... The 19 sits in my hand differently due to being shorter in the grip. It's "grip angle" feels closer to a beretta/1911 where the 34 naturally points a little higher. The difference is slight and is a non-issue if you have your eyes open. (My opinion on the whole "grip angle" debate anyway is it's a non-issue ). The 34 fills the hand, so I like it better from a grip standpoint, and is a tad easier to reload*. But the 19 is a GREAT blend of concealable vs shootable.
* reloads are plenty quick in the 19 as shown in the bullets fwd or backward thread
The 19 is EASIER to do the dryfire trick of ballancing a dime on the front sight. I think this is due to 1) shorter sight radius not amplifying wobble and 2) having a better idea when the sear will release w/ the std connector. This is partly due to lack of familiarity w/ the - connector. But I've ordered a std connector to try in the 34 to see how I like it.
The fixed factory sights on the 19 suck. The adjustable factory sights on the 34 REALLY suck.
Lets just say I won't be switching to a 19 for match purposes over the 34. But it will probably travel with me as a back-up gun.
If I were doing it over again, I'd buy a 17 instead of a 34. There's no real advantage, especially if I do end up preferring the std connector over the (-) connector, and extended mag releases are cheap.
Actually shooting (accuracy, recoil, etc), I haven't noticed any real difference, but until very recently I've never really had them both working at the same time to compare. Both are plenty accurate and controllable.
-rvb