My wife is looking for a 3" 9mm for conceal carry. One of things she really likes about the 1911 platform is the trigger. I have a Springfield Operator Champion and she lives how crisp the precise the trigger is.

I have two Springfield 1911s, a RO and a TRP, and a Remington R1 Enhanced Threaded. The Springfield triggers are both nice and crisp. The Remington has some noticeable grittiness in the takeup and the break is not quite as crisp as the other two. I would expect the lower end 1911s to feel about the same as the Remington.

My last purchase was a Rock Island 3 inch CS Tactical. Although not a 9mm like you want the very first thing that really impressed me was the factory trigger. All my other 1911's which all cost considerably more than the Rock Island EXCEPT for my TRP had stock triggers that were mostly not all that bad still ended up getting what I refer to as my standard treatment to make them acceptable to my standards. The Rock Island still to this day I have never touched the trigger and don't intend to because it's simply not necessary. To be absolutly up front, the average new 1911 I don't care who made it can and most likely will vary quite a bit from one trigger to the next even in the same model and manufacturer. These latest models from the Phillipines have been pretty much holding some of the best factory trigger pulls short of a $1000.00 or MORE factory pistol or the higher end custom such as Wilson, Ed Brown, Les Baer and many others. Their slide to frame fit on the ones I have had the pleasure to try has been nothing short of VERY impressive for the price. To make a long story short there are many 1911 smiths out there that can improve your stock trigger easily and in expensively than you might think. Some charge WAY to much for a really simple job. I know this because I built my first 1911 at age 18 which took me almost 2 years to get it right but in the process I have learned much about the platform and do all my work myself. If you have no experience with the proper operation of the 1911, have someone qualified to do the trigger work. Finally with the 3 you mentioned, I beleive you will probably be happy with the stock trigger. Best of luck to ya.

Not really out of the box, usually.   But it isn't hard to get a good enough trigger on them.  Someone who knows their way around the 1911 can generally tweak the sear spring and improve the trigger on even the cheap examples.

The cheap Philippine guns use heavier steel triggers so you can't really go too light without risking trigger bounce (and hammer following), but 4.5 pounds should be achievable with the stock parts.

My RI 5 inch 9mm does NOT have smooth or light trigger like the Springfield Loaded I had.

Thanks for the input everyone I might just have to give it a shot and hope she's happy with it
 

If you purchase a "mil-spec" 1911 (that is one that standard parts go into). You can upgrade the trigger quite dramatically with a Karl Lippard A3 sear and hammer. They are drop in parts, have easy to follow directions, you can get them on e-bay. This way you will get a very good trigger job with no weeks long turn-around time.  The lighter trigger you get the better or more adjustment you can make with this system.