Three gun makers come to mind when thinking of HPs. Garthwaite, Ahrends and Wickmann (Novak's also does good work). I believe that Ahrends has an extensive work load, so delivery times could be long. As to the details...
My base pistol would be a MKIII browning 9mm. I would not go with 40 again since I already have one and they are bulkier than the 9mm. You are also limited to 10 (or the rare 11) round mags. Sort of defeats the purpose of shooting one of these sub calibers!! Quality of the MKIII guns is very high and they are not as expensive as the completely made in Belgium guns. Haven't seen enough FNs to make a call about them.
Sights: Novak or Heinie, I would not get the Bomar again. It is not commonly seen on the HP, so it is interesting, but I could do without it. Fixed sights look better on the HP and if you are not varying bullet weight too much are perfectly adequate. Serrate top of slide.
Barrel: BarSto, factory is fairly accurate, but we are going full house here.
Safety: Factory, I tried an extended safety for a while and it just didn't look right. Properly tuned, I don't have a problem disengaging the factory HP safety.
Trigger: Tool steel sear, factory trigger bow polished. Factory hammer, bobbed and modified for no bite. Set at 4 to 5 pounds.
Checkering/Stippling: Garthwaite does some amazing checkering (40 LPI if I recall correctly) on the HP as does Ahrends, most other texture or stipple. Funds and personal preference will dictate this one. If you are going full house, checkering is probably you only option.
Finish: hard chrome or two tone
Grips: Spegel
The nice thing about the HP is that you don't have to do much to it to have a really nice functional carry piece. It's a pretty skookum gun as is and full house HPs have a quiet, understated tone that appeals to me.
Damn. Need to get my 9mm HP sent out after this!!
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fortuna favet fortibus
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: FBowers on 2001-04-12 12:37 ]</font>