Quoted:
Should I try another caliber? 9mm? 40s&w? 50GI? All my guns are work guns (in that I don't care about form or finish) so maybe a real pretty deeply blued gun?
Also should specific I'm not looking to drop over $1k, so some custom made to order 1911 won't fit the bill.
Thanks for the recommendations.
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Your current 1911 pistols don't interest you anymore and you want to try something new. But, you don't care about a nicer made, custom 1911 with match grade trigger, match grade barrel, and the tighter, smoother slide to frame fit that comes with custom 1911 pistols. So, what is it that you want? Your statements are contradictory and don't seem to indicate what you want. You describe your guns as "work guns," but, don't want custom guns. How are custom guns not work guns?
Putting all the above aside only leaves caliber change. I use to have 1911 pistols in .45 ACP caliber. But, several years ago I discovered 10mm and my only two 1911 pistols - Kimber Custom TLE/RL II and Night Hawk Custom Recon Enforcer are 10mm pistols. I much prefer the 10mm over the .45 ACP and 9mm for stopping power. As far as I am concerned the 10mm puts to bed the debate of 9mm v. .45 ACP. It beats both. With decent ammo- I use Underwood 150gr JHP which has about 1530 fps and about 780 ft lbs. That is very close to .41 magnum ballistics. 10mm also has a flatter, much more accurate trajectory than the .45 ACP.
By comparison the Speer CCI Gold Dot 9mm 124gr JHP +P ammo only produces 1220 fps and 410 ft lbs (pathetic). I used CCI/Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P because it is used by a lot of LE agencies and is highly recommended for a 9mm performance round.
The CCI/Speer Gold Dot 200gr .45ACP JHP +P produces 1080fps and 518 ft lbs . Still, over 250 ft lbs less energy than the 10mm.
So, if you want something beside a .45 ACP 1911 and you don't care about nice finish, smooth, light match trigger, more accurate match barrel, tighter slide to frame fit, then look at a 1911 chambered in 10mm. With the right ammunition, you can at least get something that is more powerful than the .45 ACP.