I've been shooting a Springfield Armory 1911, Range Officer model in .45 ACP for about 4 years. The range I go to has monthly competitions and I would go through about 150 rounds per event along with 100 rounds per week in practice. I got a 5 gallon bucket of brass for free and I reload my own rounds, so the ammo cost was not ridiculous.

I was running through a stage at one of the events, hit a slick spot on the floor and took a dive. Broke my wrist but protected the pistol. After it healed, I didn't enjoy the recoil of the .45 as much but I love the 1911 platform.

I didn't want to go back to shooting Glocks in 9mm, so I picked up a Rock Island 1911 in 9mm. I wanted to try this on the cheap, so the $400 Rock Island seemed like a smart deal. I can reload 9mm for about 6 cents per round, less than half of what it cost me to reload .45.

I loaded up some light rounds of 115 gr plated bullets over 4.3 grains of Winchester 231 powder. That was the magic load for this pistol. 1 inch groups at 20 yards and the all steel gun absorbs the recoil. It's a little finicky about the magazines, but it's a pleasure to shoot. The manufacturer recommended a 400 round break in period, but after 1200 rounds, it has not hickuped except for one of my cheap mags. I changed out the flat mainspring housing for an arched MSH and that took care of it shooting 2 inches low. It now shoots point of aim to point of impact.

If you are interested in a 9mm 1911, I can recommend Rock Islands. I was just thinking this would be a test platform for me that I will play with then sell it off for a brand name version. Right now, I can do everything with it that I could do with a $1K pistol. This one has ambidextrous safeties (I could live without that, the right side rubs my knuckles), the big beavertail grip safety (prevents hammer bite), adjustable trigger stop and full length guide rod (I would be OK with a GI guide). Sometime, I will order a Dawson fiber optic front sight. The belt (Double Alpha), holster (BladeTech) and mag pounces (BladeTech) I used for my Springfield 1911 work perfectly with this pistol.