I've wanted a nice double stack 9mm 1911 for quite some time, but the only way I can justify the expenditure is if I can use it as a duty firearm.  The model I am looking at can be seen here.

Are these ready to go out of the box?  Am I going to have to contend with tuning magazines?  Any part swaps that need to be done right off the bat for serious use?

And of course.......will a set of trijicon HD sights drop into these without issue?  I much prefer them for duty use.

Thanks!

9mm doublestacks tend to run better than .40 and .45.  That one should largely be ready to go.   I've never needed to tune a stock STI magazine.  Where that usually applies if you're using an aftermarket follower and basepad to squeeze the maximum amount of rounds into the tube.  

I have had a fair amount of trouble with STI's slide stops not locking back consistently when the gun is new.   I attribute this to an overly long slide stop which exerts more tension on the plunger than an aftermarket slide stop would.   So if you run into this, a Wilson slide stop should fix you up.

For duty use, I would yank off the magwell and go with 126mm length mags which will fit flush with the plastic grip.  You get 17+1 in 9mm with the 126mm mags.   I wouldn't want that huge magwell banging into doors and walls all day long.

I believe that one also comes with a Recoilmaster, which is STI's proprietary sort-of-captured recoil spring guide.  Lots of folks yank them out and replace with standard 1911 guiderods, plugs and springs.   I wouldn't bother unless it causes demonstrable problems.

The front sight uses the STI/Heinie cut, .300"x.060"x60º.  The rear is basically a Novak Lo-mount cut.   I doubt you can get Trijicon HD sights in such a format.   However, a decent smith could recut the HD Novak front (.330"x.075x65º) to fit the STI dovetail.

I'd be more worried about a holster for duty use. Which model are you looking at holster wise? (and does it come in left hand? )

Hopefully I don't get banned from this thread for saying this but you might want to look at the Sig X-5 Tactical in 9mm. Double stack, SAO, thumb safety,  works out of the box without tweaking, cheaper than a 2011.

Kind of off-topic, but they aren't really any cheaper that I've seen, especially now that they are no longer imported.

Id run it with a light, so theoretically I think any safariland holster for one with a light would work just fine.  They don't taper down thinner than the width of the slide before the cutout for the light starts, so I think I'd be good.

I like the safariland level 1 ALS duty holsters.  Not sure what the model number is.