Robar,
Thanks for the advice - I ordered an R.J. Style takedown tool. As for range reports, I'll certainly share my results. I'm a chronograph kind of guy, so I'll be interested in comparing R9 velocities vs. my intermediate and full-size 9's.
As for "bling", I'm fairly sure there is NP3 in my pup's future - probably next year. I'd be interested in any advice or watchouts on that front (e.g. have people done just frame, slide, barrrel and trigger, or have they done whole gun, etc.).
Finally, I didn't get up to NH on this trip (too short), and the colors were still a little early in Mass/CT. I do have fond memories of hiking in the Presedential Range many years ago, so thanks for the reminder.