Can you be more specific about what was no fun? What load did you fire?
Do you think it was the caliber or the pistol that was disagreeable?
Model 1911s are not everyone's cup of tea and those with a flat grip safety/beaver tail can hurt some people's hands. The grips and the safety and virtually everything else on the model 1911 can be changed with aftermarket parts and a bit of know-how.
I like shooting .45 caliber ACP a little more than than I do .40 S&W. The recoil seems more like a big push back than a sharper snap. The muzzle rise is probably more with .45 ACP, at least with the pistols and loads I shoot, but as long as I keep a firm, two-handed grip and accept that the muzzle is going to flip up some and then come back down I find the recoil very manageable.
If it was the recoil that you think made it uncomfortable you could try different loadings and/or projectile weights.
I have one Springfield Armory model 1911. The only other .45 caliber ACP semi-auto pistol I currently have is a Stoeger Cougar 8045 which I like quite a bit. As for whether it is easier to use than the 1911 I can't really say but I consider it a pretty soft-shooting .45 ACP as have most of the people who have tried it.
The Stoeger 8045 can be found new for around $400 or so. I bought mine in December for just over $400 NIB delivered. It is an all-metal gun so it is not particularly light, and like many Beretta's it has a fairly thick grip so it might not be the best for folks with small hands. Still, many find the Cougar grip to be more ergonomic than the Beretta M9/92 FS, or the model 1911 for that matter.
The 1911 is, of course, a single-action only pistol with a frame-mounted (usually single-sided) external safety, and a grip safety. The Cougar is a traditional double action (DA/SA) pistol with an ambidextrous slide-mounted external safety/decocker and no grip safety.