Colt vs DW
It's been a few years, but I did own a DW RZ-10. Amongst many other 1911s, I've also owned a few Colts including an XSE Commander, original Delta Elite and a Wiley Clapp Commander. The Colt Wiley Clapp was as nice as, if not a little nicer than, any current production Colt Gold Cup. The DW RZ-10 was still nicer than the Wiley Clapp, and nicer than any current or recent production Gold Cup I've seen. I've also owned a few SA 1911s. I thought the base model Loaded Parkerized was as nice as my Colt XSE Commander, but not as nice as the Wiley Clapp, nor as nice as the Delta Elite. In contrast, I've also owned an SA Loaded Lightweight Operator. The MC Operator is supposed to be about halfway between the Loaded line and the TRP line. Having handled and torn down a friend's TRP for comparison I thought that the LW Operator (even though it's part of the loaded line and not supposed to be as nice as the MC Operator) was right between the base Loaded and the TRP. If the MC Operator is nicer than the LW Operator it must be 3/4 of the way to a TRP. I also had the chance to tear down and clean a couple SA Loaded Target models that came into the shop on trade. The Loaded Target models were a bit nicer than the base loaded models, and the bbls and bushings felt better fitted than on the base loaded models. That was from an admittedly small sample size though. (And, yes, I did change 1911s about as often as I changed my socks when I worked in the gun shop.
)
I'll use Bud's prices for ease of comparison. Currently, the DW RZ-45 Heritage is $1074 and the Colt Gold Cup Stainless is $1143. That's not a true apples to apples comparison though, since the Colt GC has the Bomar style adjustable sights. The fair comparison would be the Colt GC vs the $1474 DW Pointman 7. I think the DW PM7 is worth the extra roughly $300 over the Gold Cup.
The other one to consider is Springfield Armory Loaded Stainless Target, which is $890 (even less at a few other retailers). That's only $150 more than the Range Officer for an equivalent pistol, but with the better looking polished stainless steel finish you want. The DW PM7 is certainly nicer than the SA Loaded Target though.
So, what would I do if I wanted a range use only 1911 with adjustable sights? If I had $1200 to drop on a stainless Gold Cup, I'd save a little longer to have the extra $300 to get the DW PM7 and be much happier in the long run. If a $1500 pistol absolutely wasn't in the cards I'd get an SA loaded stainless target for $300 less than the stainless Gold Cup. Then I'd buy a fair amount of ammo and range time with the savings, and still be happy. If the Bomar style adjustable rear sight isn't a must have get the DW RZ-45 and don't look back.