TexasRoadDawg,
For your first 1911, try to stay away from anything with less than a 4" barrel. Yes you will find posters that have them and have no problems, but you will find more of them that have all kinds of fail to function, especially when trying to feed hollowpoints reliabily. Most custom gunsmiths can build a reliable sub 4" 1911, but that is going to be out of your price range at this time. Plus the sub 4" guns have the compact grip which is too short for some of us and you loose a round of ammo as well. I have tried 3", 3.5", 4", and even 5" as carry weapons for over 20 years and for comfort, sight plane, balance and ammo quantity, the 4" is just about perfect. There are some great guns listed here and you will have to choose within your budget, but as posted earlier, make sure you get a "Quality" holster to carry it in. Another thing I did not see mentioned is the belt to hold all this up on you hip.....it's quality should at least match the holster if not exceed it. Please understand that this comes from someone who has tried most holsters out there and belts as well. I recently sold a bunch of my old holsters and even got involved in some "pay it forward" where I gave away some others to get something else in return. I was amazed at how many I had in my holster box that were the "wrong" holster. Good luck!!
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