Government or commander sized. Rail OK or even preferred.

What's out there with those specs in 9mm? Most importantly, what's reliable? Preferably with out sacrificing body parts to buy something like an STI.

Sig makes a Tacops in 9mm, they did discontinue it last year, but it's a great option if you can find one used or floating around the internet on sale.

I like my Ruger commander sized in 9mm. The safety could be a bit more positive, but it’s not bad. I have found that it likes Ruger magazines. The metal-form mags I have tried are just a hair too tall and I have had malfunctions from them. But the Ruger mags have been 100%.
Oh, no rail on the Ruger.

For railed full size (this is not an exhaustive list)

Dan Wesson makes a Specialist in 9
http://danwessonfirearms.com/product/specialist/

Springfield has a Range Officer Elite Operator in 9
https://www.springfield-armory...-elite-operator-9mm/

I've had several Springfields and been very happy. Not the most expensive nor the least. But nicely in the sweet spot.

KIMBER has a few 9mm models, in 3", 4" and 5"

I'm very happy with my Dan Wesson Guardian. Very well-made pistol.

Jerry

I love 9mm 1911's. To the above my single Kimber was junk. Not a big sample but it is what it is.

Have DW PM9 full size and a Guardian commander size, both reliable and accurate. RIA officer size goes bang every time, low cost and not the quality of DWs.

I bought a used RIA FS just because I wanted to try a 9mm 1911. I have been very impressed with it and have had no problems of any kind.

My Kimber pro tactical has been very reliable.

A couple of years ago, I picked up the 9MM Rock Island.

This was my personal torture test gun. So far, I've got over 4000 rounds down the pipe and I never took her apart for any reason ... not even a cleaning.

I will say though that she's NOT my most accurate 9MM, NOR my most accurate 1911.

Save yourself the hassle and do NOT buy a Kimber. I've seen dozens of them come through my shop and not be able to get through one magazine without issues. Not to mention, they're terribly overpriced for what you get. For the money you'd spend on a Kimber, you can get really good production/ semi-custom 1911.

Went through the same search a few months back and ended up with a DW Specialist 9mm. It’s not the cheapest, nor the most expensive - but it is an excellent balance of price and quality. It has been flawless in operation and is a pleasure to shoot. An added small bonus was it came with three 10 round mags.

I bought a Colt Competition 9mm 1911 in S/S (also made in Carbon steel) and it was around $865. Has a tru-glo style front sight, all of the bells and whistles and has been a great pistol, accurate, nice trigger (albeit a touch heavy around 5lbs) and has an incredibly tight slide to frame fit and bushing to barrel fit.

https://www.colt.com/series/COMPETITION_SERIES

Colt 1991-a1 Commander.

I own one and it has been accuate, soft shooting and as long as I avoid Horandy FTX rounds, relaible.

Colt 1991-a1 Government. Even softer shooting.

Can't go wrong with a 9mm 1911, my preference is with an alloy frame. Just feels right in my hand.
Ruger is a great gun for the money, the Colt was about 1.5x the cost of the Ruger and has a better fit/finish/trigger/overall "niceness".
The Wilson's were considerably more but, IMO, well worth it.
I hear real good things about the Dan Wessons, not too much more than the Colts in cost, but the owners I talk to love them.

I have a Colt Comp, Stain and its been flawless .

I've had a 5" Kimber 9mm 1911 for 10 years and it's been fine. I have only put about 3000 rounds through it though. The extractor needed a little 'tuning' but otherwise no issues. I shoot IDPA with a couple other owners of the same model (basic Stainless II or Target II) and I haven't heard about any problems. The non-Pro Series S&Ws and others in the same price range don't seem as well made to me. I wouldn't buy anything but a full size and since I'm not that in to 1911s I didn't want to spend the money for anything 'higher end.'

I was in the market for one last year. Went with Dan Wesson and picked up a Valkyrie when the prices went through the floor on them: