One of my first economic courses I took back in the day spoke about guns and butter. The texts example was countries can have all the guns their money can buy or all the butter their money can buy but they can't have both.
Using Pacpbillie's 4 T's as the example assuming we have a limit to what we can or want to spend. You balance it off. You can spend all your money on the gun with none left over for practice or a bit less on the gun for a bit of practice. The skill level is limited by your physical attributes and mental capacity. You either have some of it, more of it or lots of it.
marshall introduces the 2nd level of Pacps T's and that is purpose. I shoot IDPA. Ideally I want to hit an 8" circle with every shot our to 35 yards. I need a gun that will do just that, all of the time. There is no bonus for two shots an inch apart dead center at 35 yards. I can buy a $800 - $1,200 gun that will meet my needs and much more be it Striker fired, hammer fired steel or polymer. (PPQ M2 5"/SIG X Five'CZ 85Combat/Shadow1 to name a few.) For the same quality I can spend three times that for a 1911. 1911's cost more to make to produce about the same result. Right now on the EE about $600 will do the same thing for a variety of designs.
There is a PPQ Match shooter on this forum who shoots PPC and claims his PPQ shoots as well as top end 1911's. The PPQ has a well know reputation for accuracy and combines it with reliability. I suspect he concluded the difference in price got him no improvement in the two things he requires accuracy and reliability. $1,200 vs $3,000+
From what I can see in 90% of the shooters hands the extra $2000 - $3000 may get you a safe Queen you will be afraid to get a rub mark on that in a Marksman/Sharpshooters hands will not score any better than the guys $450 used M&P. Go to an IPSC or IDPA club match and watch. The really good shooters are really good shooters and they likely will be shooting top end guns but they would be really good shooters with entry level guns as well. Neither sport requires bulls eye accuracy but they do demand reliability and accuracy out to a relatively short distance. If you are going to shoot Olympic Free Pistol than $5,000 might be your minimum entry level gun and none of the guns I mentioned will be of use to you.
Still Alive I think said it best when he said buy what you can afford and remember what I learned in Economics 100 it all boils down to Guns and Butter.
Take Care
Bob
ps There is a shooter out of Kitimat that now shoots in the top range of a Sharpshooter with a stock Norinco 1911 .45acp that now, through 8 years of shooting, has a well worn in trigger. The stock sights are still small and hard to see for me but not for him. In the years I have shot with him the damn gun has never jammed. The gun is reliable, and accurate enough for what he has to shoot. All for $349.
pps do not send this opinion to my wife. :<(