Look into a Springfield Armory XD in 45GAP which will keep you under your budget. It is a cartridge designed to fit in 9mm/40S&W sized frames with ballistics almost identical to the 45acp.
The gun is good to go right out of the box. It has a grip safety and points naturally like a 1911.
http://www.huntchat.com/showthread.p...hlight=service