Grandpa passed, looking for some advice about this Essex Arms SS 1911 .45

Hey, first post here. Unfortunately my grandpa recently passed - he had many great firearms, though here is probably the worst one out of the collection.

Thanks to Revolverguy38's posts about this a few years ago, I was able to get a bit of info on Essex arms. This particular example was very early in the production run, as you can see by the serial.

Unfortunately, this thing shoots TERRIBLE. I pride myself on my shooting ability, but with this, you are hard pressed to even get it on a paper target from just 10 FEET away. It usually shoots super low and to the left, but not consistently (can rule out the sights being an issue?).

The slide has no markings on it, I believe it was original, just a cast "SS" which I can only assume refers to the stainless steel model. Further, the barrel has no markings at all.

I'm wondering where to start with this. I don't think the sights are an issue (Though I could be convinced otherwise). From what I've read, these slides and barrels were poor quality to begin with, so I'm wondering if next steps ought to be a barrel upgrade, or more.

Any input or advice would be appreciated - thanks!

Below are some photos. Tried to get some some quality pics so I apologize if you're browsing on mobile. Hopefully you enjoy the last photo, of a much better 1911 out of his collection