I remember my officer let me qualify with his .45 and when I cleaned it after I was astounded at how old and worn the parts were! The nines were just coming in and only the Major had one that he wore in a shoulder rig. The Major also looked and talked like Michael Ironside in Starship Troopers.
“I was astounded at how old and worn the parts were!”
All the .45s that I ever saw in the Army were very well worn, with lots of play (even jiggle) in them.
They worked fine and hit hard, but their accuracy was not suitable for competition.