I probably wont be popular for saying this but here goes.
From '87 to '91 I was an armorer in the Marine Corps. I was stationed on Okinawa during the transition from the 1911A1 to the M9. Range time with the .45 was a constant fight to keep the shooters in action, with most of the guns malfunctioning at least some of the time. This changed with the introduction of the Beretta. I personally witnessed at least a million rounds go through the M9 with exactly one failure, and that was with a round so malformed that no pistol could chamber it. Granted, the .45s were old, the newest being made in 1945, but they weren't worn out. Anyone who has put alot (10,000 rnds +) through a 1911 knows that the low pressure .45 ACP round doesn't really stress the gun.
Fast forward. In 2000 I really began shooting pistol in earnest. That year I fired a little over 5000 rounds in practice and competition and saw the exact same thing. Shooters with 1911s (myself included) fought with failure rates that made winning very difficult if the competition was armed with more modern pistols. I continued with the .45, convinced that if one wants to shoot a real gun it has to be a 1911 of some kind. Last year I finally gave in and bought a Glock. I now have 6445 documented rounds through this pistol with zero failures. I never came close to that kind of reliability with 1911s and I have become convinced that if someone tells me they have a 100% reliable 1911, either they don't really shoot it or they are lying to me. After hearing my whole life that the 1911 is THE handgun to be armed with it was hard to give them up but reality is hard to overcome. I still own and shoot 3 different 1911's but I don't compete with or carry them anymore. Flame on..
I have never understood that as of the maybe dozen or more I have owned, they have all been totally reliable with any normal ammo. I shot everything including my own handloads with no problems.
Now there were occassional problems but they were always the fault of the ammo, not the pistol. By that, I mean bullets seated so lightly that they were forced into the case when they struck the ramp, etc.
I do agree that the Beretta is more reliable. In fact as I said earlier on this thread, it is likely the most reliable pistol made with the possible exception of the Sig P226.
It sounds like you have done more shooting with the .45 than me so I will defer to your experience but still think you are overstating the reliability problems.
BTW, my Father worked at Eglin for 35 years and spent a lot of time at the test facility where the first round of JSP testing was done. The Beretta was the clear winner. The Army couldn't stand for the air force to be testing pistols so insisted that the tests were not valid. They redid the tests with the same outcome. The Beretta (and Sig) beat everything else.
The Beretta would be ideal if it had two improvements, One the grip is just a little too thick, and the trigger pull is heavy.