It was a standard issue M1911 .45 out of the armory. Maybe just a bad pistol, but man was I unimpressed, compared to a Beretta 9mm I've fired and hit small targets 25 meters away.
If it was a military issue .45 then the most likely problem was that it was worn out. Most military .45s are 60+ years old very few military 1911's were built after WW2.
That explains it. The M1911's the military had were not made after 1945. That is, the military did not procure any new M1911's after 1945. So what you were shooting was a gun that had been used and abused for many years and was probably rebuilt once or twice. It was half worn out. A new 1911 or an old one that had not seen so much use should be accurate enough.
The 1911 is a hard gun to shoot, it really takes some practice to get the grip, hold and trigger pull just right.
But they are accurate gun, and favored by competive shooters.
It may have been badly worn. I've fired one that was so bad off I damn near could have done better throwing the weapon at the target. But one in good shape is accurate.
I personally prefer a .22 mag for targets and plinking (which is about all I do) and don't like the .45, as it is noisy, boisterous, difficult-to-control piece of iron.
But then, I don't carry it into combat.