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I'll preface my comments by admitting that I am not expert, gun connoisseur, or can even stand in the shadows of some of the experience that is on this forum.

You say you want a 1911. That's great. Go try one out. If it fits and feels good...or you think you can make it feel good...then get it. Learn it, practice it, grow into it. 1911s are a unique firearm, one I think everyone should experience.

I don't believe that a 1911s are harder guns to handle, shoot, or learn. There is nothing magical, or "advanced", about them. They are just like any other tool. You just figure them out (safely) and carry on. I carry both a Defender and an XDSC9mm interchangeably. I don't notice any difference in the manual of arms. Maybe I'm just extremely talented or incredibly stupid. When I pick up the Defender I know, or maybe it's muscle memory, where the thumb safety is and it clicks off without me consciously thinking about it. When I pick up the XD I know its manual of arms without thinking about it. I don't shoot as much as I need to and certainly don't have a round count anywhere close to many on this board but that doesn't detract from the fact the my hand has figured out the feel of each gun and how it works.

A short story if you will allow. Not exactly self-defense but similar in an off-hand way. I normally carry my XD to work but one day I was carrying my Defender in my 5.11 holster undershirt. As I was on the way home I ran across a couple of coyotes. Now coyotes around here have a standing shoot-on-sight order. My neighbor runs a lot of cattle with new ones about to hit the ground at any moment and coyotes are always a threat. It doesn't help that I and several neighbors have lost dogs and other barnyard livestock to coyotes. After a quick chase down a turnrow I jumped out of the truck and took aim with the Defender. Not once did I think about taking the pistol from my 5.11, nor did I think about clicking off the safety, or even that I was carrying by Defender instead of my XD. It all just flowed and happened. It's no different that using your keyboard at home and your keyboard at work. Do you have to stop and think about it every time you change locations. Of course not. Once you get used to both of them you can interchange between them without thinking about it.

I want to encourage you to try out a 1911. They are great guns...as are a host of others I wish I could own. If you want one, get it.