My first pistol was a Glock 17. I used it for concealed carry and home defense for several years before I replaced it with the larger model 34. I use my Glock for pretty much everything from concealed carry, to training, to home defense. If I knew that on a given day I would need a pistol to defend myself, I would go with my Glock. If however, I want to go to the range and simply enjoy the fun of shooting, I will opt for my 1911. No other pistol brings me as much enjoyment as my 1911. It is an iconic pistol with incredible historical significance. It has even been adopted as the official firearm of the American state of Utah.
The model I own is a Para Expert. I picked it up as a Christmas present to myself on December 24, 2013 for $580. It came in a nice plastic case.
Included in the case was the pistol, 2 Para branded 8 round mags, a cable lock and a bushing wrench.
The pistol came with black plastic grips as shown below resting on top of the more traditional ones I replaced them with. I prefer a more classic look so the polymer grips had to go.
The Para Expert features subdued markings on the slide which adds to the aesthetics of the pistol.
This model is a full sized 1911 chambered in the venerable .45acp cartridge. It features a 5" match grade barrel. It has a lowered and flared ejection port which aid in reliability.
The front sight is a green fiber optic and the rear is a black square notch. The rear sight is perfectly usable for emergency slide manipiulation. 
The pistol has an extended and serrated thumb safety on the left side which has very positive engagement which you can hear and feel when operating. The hammer is skeletonised and textured. The mag release button is easy to get to and textured. The beaver tail grip safety has a memory bump to aid in deactivation.
The front of the grip is smooth while the back has excellent checkering. 
The match trigger is a skeletonised 3 hole type with an adjustment screw.
The mag well has a slight bevel to it aiding in insertion of magazines.
The recoil spring plug is textured and the barrel bushing turns easily with no need for the included bushing wrench thanks to a traditional length spring guide. 
Straight out of the box, I was impressed by the black nitride finish. It gave the gun a nice look, which over the years has held up well. The gun seemed very well put together and had a minimal amount of play between the stainless steel slide and frame. The slide travel was very smooth.
The only problem this gun has ever given me is when it was brand new, the factory slide release/lock would not lock the slide open on an empty mag. I tried different mags and could not get it to work correctly. I didn't feel like returning the gun to Para or taking it to a gun smith so after I decided the lever itself was the problem, I ordered a replacement from Wilson Combat. Specifically their "Bullet Proof" version. Once I installed the new piece, proper function was achieved. The Wilson part is solid steel and should never break. 4+ years later, still going strong.
After I decided it was time to replace the recoil spring, I again turned to Wilson Combat and ordered their flat wire recoil spring kit which includes a flat, chrome silicon 17lb. spring, new recoil spring guide and a recoil buffer. I tried using the buffer at first but it didn't allow the slide enough rearward travel to reliably feed longer cartridges so I took it out and have not had any problems since. The new spring has a 40,000 round service life. It should last the rest of my life.
The Para mags are perfect and I have never had any problems with them. I think they are made my Mecgar but I'm not positive on that. I ordered some checkmate mags when APEX had a deal on them. I also ordered some Brownells branded ones. I don't care for the checkmate mags because the follower is not supported like the Para & Brownells mags. The Para mags have polymer followers while the other two manufacturers feature metal ones. The Brownells mags required a lot of sanding and polishing of the followers to get them functioning smoothly. Before that, they would bind up a lot. Now they work 100%
I don't normally cary this pistol but when I do, I want more firepower as this gun is a single stack model with a capacity of 8+1. I ordered two 10 round mags from Wilson Combat to cary as reloads. This brings me up to 29 rounds of .45acp to deal with any threats. The Wilson mags feature synthetic followers and have welded on tabs which prevent over insertion in the magwell. They functioned smoothly from the factory. 
Para with Wilson 10 round mag.
The 1911 is not a pistol I recommend as a carry piece but if you want to have fun at the range I say go for it. If need be, it can fill other roles too as it has done for over 100 years.
Happy shooting.