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I've got the old alloy framed Para 14-45 made in Canada. Don't quite need a crane, but she IS heavy. Too heavy for me to carry all the time. My P12-45, on the other hand, is pretty much my favorite .45, and I've got a few. It's officer size, but shoots ragged holes at CQB distance - feeds everything I've ever fed it. For me, a great gun. NOW, full disclosure: I just picked up an XD-s 45 that I've yet to wring out enough to trust for EDC, but so far; really good. Tiny gun (relatively), great trigger, accurate, hasn't choked on anything I've fed it yet, and recoil just a bit more stout than the P12 - probably as much due to the single stack grip as the actual "felt" recoil. To me, less practical recoil than a G27; the 40 is snappy, the 45 is more of a solid "shove".

That said; TAM gives sage advice here; 1911 style guns take work to master and are more complex than glocks and such. Love 'em to death, and would never sell one that I owned, BUT, the polymer guns are WAY easier to learn on. If you "need" a double stack 45, try a glock 30sf. Hope that helps.