Many of the 1911A1 pistols that the Army used to train with were nearly worn out and difficult to shoot. I particularly remember coaching an officer who just couldn't get the pistol to discharge. I had her shift her grip so that the grip safety was pressed in more firmly. Then the pistol would fire. At one point before that, she was pressing on the trigger so hard that the gun was visibly shaking.
It was simply a mechanical problem with that particular gun.
Try a 1911 that is in good shape, and you will likely be pleasantly surprised. I was issued one for a divisional competition one time. It looked like it had been made in 1946 and never been carried or issue, it looked so mint. It shot like a dream, and I shot the overall high score for the divisional (leg) match with it.
Thank you, the others were convinced it was operator error. I can shoot with a decent pistol at the range and now that my eyes are fixed I can shoot well.