ROOPHLOCH 2020                                    09/24/2020 
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In case you don't know what I'm talking about, it's the 
second annual Remote Outdoor Off-Grid Phlogging 
Challenge[1]. My entry follows between the ****'s.

****

location: whetstone creek conservation area shooting range
device: old kindle with built-in keyboard
connectivity: none, will download .txt via usb at home 

I decided to use ROOPHLOCH 2020 to do something I've been 
wanting to for quite some time, to get out to the range and 
shoot. I went early, and am the only one here. 

I'm not sure why it took me so long to get here. Life is 
busy, and full of more important things I guess. But, I'm 
here now.

Today I brought three guns, and I think I'll only use two. 
One is a cheap Davis Industries derringer in 22WMR. My 
grandpa kept it next to him until he couldn't lift his arms, 
which is why it has meaning to me. I've never fired it, and 
I don't quite trust it. But, I did bring leather gloves and 
eye protection, so here goes...

It worked perfectly. A little hard to eject the casings, but 
that's my only complaint. Felt very solid.

That gun's companion is a NAA in 22LR, which I also brought. 
I know, it's the big guns today! I do enjoy these little 
guns though, and my purpose here is to check out the range 
and get out of the house...

I'm done typing for now... this keyboard is painland, so I 
may add to this after I upload. Happy fall, and happy 
ROOPHLOCHing!

****

Back home, on a normal keyboard. I used the "My Clippings" 
feature of the old Kindle to create the note above, which is 
conveniently stored in MyClippings.txt when you connect the 
thing to USB. Boy, that keyboard was a bear... I guess the 
benefit is, it keeps one focused on only typing what needs 
to be said! Still, there's more I want to share, so I'm 
augmenting this post. Is that within the ROOPHLOCH 
regulations? I'm pretty sure it is, but I'm doing it either 
way.

First, about that Davis Industries gun: If you look on 
YouTube, there is a video about it titled, "DAVIS DERRINGER 
DM22 WARNING/DANGEROUS-MUST SEE!" It sounds bad, but notice 
the ratio of thumbs-up to thumbs-down. Plenty of knowledge 
in the comments, contrary to most of YouTube. When I first 
saw this video, I thought, "oh great, a cheap-o gun that's 
really on ever a liability." But then I watched the video 
and examined my firearm, and realized that the person 
creating the content was either extremely lazy, or just 
plain ignorant. The safety mechanisms on the gun work 
perfectly, the pin never rests on the casing unless you're 
using it wrong, and the gun opererates smoothly. I was 
pleased at how it operated today, including the safety. More 
than keeping it as a memento, I'll add it to my target 
practice fun. Maybe I'll even carry it in an ankle holster, 
since I don't wear cowboy boots.

Second, and more importantly, a little bit about Whetstone 
Creek conservation area. The parts that I saw were 
beautiful. Yes, they look much like the rest of 
mid-missouri. Dense forest, gently rolling hills. The 
shooting range was in a low part of the park, and had zero 
cell reception (not even emergency coverage, at least on my 
phone.) The park has fishing and camping as well, so I'll 
have to do an overnight there this fall or winter (sorry 
Missouri, camping here in the summer is horrid.) It was a 
lovely morning, cool but not cold, and clear. The firing 
range faces east, which was the only downside to the time I 
chose (and probably the reason for no crowds.)

And last, before I sign off, a sincere thanks to solderpunk 
for calling us out--literally outside--for ROOPHLOCH 2020. 
It's nice to have an excuse to do something new, and get 
away from it all, even if it's just for a morning.

[1] gopher://zaibatsu.circumlunar.space:70/1/~solderpunk/roophloch