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Yes, the Model 19s are more prone to wear and tear but actually, stainless steel is less prone to this wear than carbon steel as the stainless properties help protect the gun from the leeching of carbon from the steel. It should also offer some protection from frame stretching, or warping, although how much I don't know. The insertion of a sideplate causes the stress of the blast to be unequally distributed throughout the frame. One NRA technical writer (C.E. Harris) wrote that he wore out a Model 19 with as little as two thousand full powered magnum loads. He then switched to a Security-Six which he's probably still shooting.The Model 19's are reported to have some durability issues if you're shooting a lot of .357s. Some say that's really only applicable to the 66's (the stainless k-frame .357).
Back in the early 80s, gun writers were giving high praise to 6-inch Smith 66 and Ruger Security-Six revolvers as the perfect hunting, camping and hiking pieces. When the respective companies dropped these pistols with the boat anchors now in production, such articles disappeared. The new guns were fine for range and target shooting, but not so much for outdoor hiking in the snow and quick and fast shots. And since Harris had outfitted his Security-Six with round-butt Pachmayr Compacts, I thought it was a good idea for my shorter barrels and so I ground some down. I didn't believe it to be advantageous for 6-inch guns, though, and still feel that way. But Compact grips can always be traded in for square butt grips if preferred.
As for the "Six"-series guns, a Wolff spring kit and several hundred dry fires can make them as good as any Smith I've ever seen.