If you've had it for 25 years, odds are it's a Gen1. See this FAQ for more detailed info

For defensive use, I'm pretty fond of 124gr +P offereings of Federal HST, Winchester SXT, and Speer Gold Dots. In non +P I like 147 grain offerings of the same.

Here is a picture which shows the differences in the first three generations of frames quite well. If yours has a uniformly slight rough texture all the way around, it is a Gen1. If there is checkering or grooves on the front and rear of the grip, it is a Gen2.



Gen1 Glock 19s are not common, and might be worth a bit more than a normal used G19 to a Glock collector, especially if you have the box and original magazines/manual/etc.


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Here is an updated image showing the differences in almost all the Glock frame generations: