OK, I've got some pennies rolled and it's time to have some fun. I'm ready to get my first "nice" (looks and build quality) 1911 and the budget is a pretty hard cap of $1100 including shipping. Primary use will be as a fun gun. Ringing steel and punching paper for fun at the range, competition or carry roles are very much a secondary consideration. I'm not a 1911 newbie, I'm more of a hobby grade amateur. I do have some experience shooting them for fun, and I put together a couple from Rock Island kits so I have an idea of some of the quirks and what's generally going on under the hood (so to speak) but I am by no means an armorer or even dedicated enthusiast.
Over the weekend I started looking around at what's out there and came up with a list of preferences and a couple of must haves.
Must haves:
Beavertail from the factory - I don't get paid to deal with hammer bite, I don't want to deal with fitting one and right now I don't feel like paying someone else to fit one
Dovetailed front and rear sights - I can't see GI sights very well and I don't want to pay to have a slide milled
9 or .45 - I stock both so I'm good with either. My hands and wrists might prefer 9 but I'm not opposed to light target loads and a spring change if I feel like shooting a bunch of .45
Government or Commander length, no Officer, CCO, etc. If a compelling case can be made for the 4" Champion length SA uses, I'm willing to listen
Steel frame if it's a .45 regardless of barrel length
Outside of those things, I'm pretty open on my preferences. A rail would be nice but it's not a deal maker or breaker. I can take or leave an ambi safety, same for magwells. Blued is my preference but could be swayed to a stainless or 2 tone for the right price and feature set. I'd prefer factory new but I'm not opposed to buying used if it's a better value.
Here's what I've found so far that I think meets what I'm looking for in one form or another:
Dan Wesson Vigil 9mm - I've run across some factory blems in Gov and Commander lengths for right at $1100. These seem like a strong value
Springfield TRP Operator - I've found a handful of used/LNIB .45 TRPs from $900-1100
Springfield Range Officer Operator - I'm finding these new and used, 9 and .45 from $850 (new 9mm) to just under $100 (used .45 with additional quality mags, etc)
Springfield Ronin - I'm seeing these for under $800 for the 9mm. I'm not wild about the 2 tone look and I haven't looked very hard for reviews but they appear to be similar to the Range Officer line. I think...