Vortex Nation Podcast

Tiny calibers are fast and fun. These pint-size projectiles push the limits of possible. Punching paper to popping prairie dogs, tiny cartridges abound, filling boutique-like niches sure to make any enthusiast add a new rifle to their collection. Jimmy Hamilton and Mark Boardman tap into the all-knowing Ryan Muckenhirn and, frequent guest, Seth Toy to get the lowdown on these cuties of the cartridge world.As always, we want to hear your feedback! Let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation™ podcast by asking us on Instagram @vortexnationpodcast

One of the biggest things that separates “Great” precision shooters from “Pretty good” ones is how they make corrections and how they maximize their margin for error when dealing with wind. Nick Laufenberg joins Jimmy to discuss utilizing your full target as a means for getting a hit on steel, measuring that target in MOA/MRAD, thinking of wind in terms of MOA/MRAD, and trusting your reticle when misses happen to make a sound correction that will get you on target for the second shot.

Long Range on a budget – Can it be done? Hell-yeah it can. Jim and Mark sit down with in-house long-range shooters Nick Laufenberg and Scott Parks to discuss options and how to effectively engage in the ever increasing in popularity activity of long-range shooting. We also debut the Venom 5-25x56 riflescope – a budget-friendly, optically-sound and feature-rich riflescope, sure to make any current or future long-range shooter smile. After personally running this scope through its paces prior to launch, Jim and Mark both agree this scope performs like a champ – and you know how mark likes to live that “pinky-up” life, so that’s saying something.As always, we want to hear your feedback! Let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation™ podcast by asking us on Instagram @vortexnationpodcast

One of the oldest .30-06-based wildcats, the .35 Whelen had enjoyed a brief period of commercial successes, and is still holding on in some circles as an understated champion for medium-sized game. Has this old powerhouse been displaced by modern magnums, or, does modesty prevail? Tune in to learn more!

So you want a suppressor, that’s a no brainer, but which one? What are all the differences between the suppressors we see on the market today and what’s even significant about those differences? All good questions – Mark and Jimmy had the same ones and a whole lot more for Adam and Reuben, our in-house NFA-item nerds. We dive into the three main types of suppressors, rifle, pistol and rimfire, and some of the things you should be aware of when purchasing your very own. Which suppressor do you think Mark should get? We finally got him back into AR ownership, let’s get a suppressor in his personal arsenal, too!As always, we want to hear your feedback! Let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation™ podcast by asking us on Instagram @vortexnationpodcast

BDC (Ballistic Drop Compensating) Reticles are fast, simple and extremely popular. The hashmarks are based on a general ballistics curve most popular big game calibers follow pretty close out to 600 yards. But what if you want to know exactly where the hashmarks line up for your rifle and the load you’re pushing through it?  What if you have a cartridge that falls outside of the “general ballistics curve”? Good questions! Jim and Mark sit down with Ryan Muckenhirn to chat through “Truing your BDC Reticle” for optimum accuracy!

Getin' Ticky With It! Jim and Mark burrow in deep with E.R. Doc. and tick expert, Charlie Pearce, for an in-depth discussion on everything ticks. Creepy, yes! Fascinating, yes! An ever-increasing problem with serious health ramifications, yes!  What is a tick and ticks of interest. How do ticks work? What is their life cycle? Why are ticks so effective as a vector for disease? What is questing? Why is a tick bite painless? What is Lyme disease? Growth of Lyme disease in the US. Spirochetes, what are they? Symptoms of Lyme. Treatments for Lyme. Short and long-term effects of Lyme. We cover all this and more!! If you go outside, this is one you need to listen to!As always, we want to hear your feedback! Let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation™ podcast by asking us on Instagram @vortexnationpodcast

Crimped cases may seem like a pain-in-the-brass, but are actually pretty darn simple to prep for reloading. In this podcast we cover what a crimped case is, how to identify it, and how to get rid of the crimp.If watching on YouTube, you can see us do it. If you’re a “brass rat”, but cull every crimper you come by, you may want to reconsider.

A day in the life of an optical engineer - arguably nothing more exciting!!! OK, maybe we are optics geeks around here. Join Jim, Mark, Christian, and Todd from Vortex as they take look deep into the world of optical engineers and the science behind it all. From blowing smoke through lasers, to reflection, refraction, destructive interference, moving mirrors, modulating a time domain spectrum, how computers changed the game and all sorts of other nerdy stuff, this one is a mind bender for the ages.As always, we want to hear your feedback! Let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation™ podcast by asking us on Instagram @vortexnationpodcast

What’s the secret to long-range shooting? The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind. Literally. Much of the challenge, variability, frustration and skill regarding long-range shooting relates to wind. Gravity is a constant, wind is not. Ironically, the “F-ing wind”, as we like to call it is probably one of main the things that keeps us coming back to the range to get better at shooting. A viscous cycle really. Tune in to this long-winded 10-min talk for tips and tricks on how you can make better wind calls.

The new 6.8 Western is a Hot Topic (Jim’s Favorite Store) among cartridge connoisseurs. It’s so new, not a lot of folks have a ton of experience with it. On paper, it looks pretty darn good. Will it be the new 6.5? Is it everything the 270 WSM should have been. Will it knock critters down with authority at long range? Time will tell. Listen in to get our take on this new kid on the cartridge block.As always, we want to hear your feedback! Let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation™ podcast by asking us on Instagram @vortexnationpodcast

In this 10 minutes of cartridge fury, Ryan Muckenhirn shoots us straight on perhaps the most iconic straight wall cartridge -  the 45-70. This fantastic and storied cartridge is one of Ryan’s personal favorites for myriad reasons. From its military adoption, to reloading and hunting, the 45-70 is straight-up cool! Listen in to find out how cool!

Small-bore, big-bore, iguanas to impala, modern air rifles aren’t just a youthful introduction to hunting and the shooting sports. Great for that – yes – but a whole lot more as well. These things can pack a wallop, are extremely high tech, and a world unto themselves. Mark and Jim sit down with long-time friend, hunting, firearms and air rifle expert, Mike Schoby, from the Outdoor Sportsman Group, to dive headfirst into the wormhole that is, the Modern Air Rife.As always, we want to hear your feedback! Let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation™ podcast by asking us on Instagram @vortexnationpodcast

There’s Morel to spring than Turkeys and Sheds. There’s morels! These tasty mushrooms are mysterious, delectable and can be dang hard to find…..Which is what makes it so cool when you do find them. Jim and Mark sit down with resident fungal expert and avid forager, Ryan Muckenhirn, to get the scoop on how to scoop up some of these culinary treasures.

“High end” and “AK 47”are two terms we don’t generally see together. Well, unless you’re talking about the gold-pated ones, but that doesn’t really count….The folks over at Dissident Arms have turned conventional wisdom on its head by taking all of the iconic and very positive attributes of the AK 47 and fully customized the platform, transforming it from reliable blaster to precision competition race-gun extraordinaire. They have also perfected AK 12 Gauge shotguns – which are unique and flat-out awesome. Do you have AR’s coming out your ears and are looking for something different to spice things up? The AK may be exactly what you need! Are we experiencing US AK renaissance? Listen in and find out? As always, we want to hear your feedback! Let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation™ podcast by asking us on Instagram @vortexnationpodcast

Action packed, effective, and with some obvious safety considerations a person needs to account for, “Reaping” turkeys is a tactic a person can consider keeping in their turkey tool box. As the name implies, using this method often results in a dead gobbler. Some folks say you should never do it and are violating every safety rule in the book. Others take several precautions and do it all the time – knowing they are accepting a level of risk. As with a lot of things in the good old USA, we’ll leave that up to the individual. One thing is certain, done correctly, the response elicited from what could be a wary, henned up gobbler, can be nothing short of a full-on turkey charge. Jim and Mark sit down with expert turkey reapers, “The Breaking  Point” to get the lowdown on the unique strategies they’ve developed. If you want to see this tactic in action, head on over to the Vortex YouTube channel and click on the “Vortex Selects” series these guys put together.

A deer property can be so much more than, well, a deer property. But what’s be best way to create an ecosystem to maximize benefit for all wildlife  -  including you? Yes, you count as wildlife. Jim and Mark sit down with the team at Land and Legacy to discuss property management, their professional consulting work, habitat and more. Land and Legacy isn’t a one-trick pony. They travel the US and are familiar with landscapes from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts. Each region and property is unique, and these guys are experts at maximizing the true potential of any property. Hinge cuts to burns, water to food plots, timber harvests and more, there’s a lot we can do to be the ultimate steward to the land. Our legacy extends far beyond dusty shoulder mounts on the wall (which are no doubt awesome). Tune in to get some great tips on what your land and legacy can be.As always, we want to hear your feedback! Let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation™ podcast by asking us on Instag

There’s more than one way to pursue a bear - spot-and-stalk, baiting, hounds. Choose your weapon too – bow, rifle, or muzzleloader. They all have their intricacies. The good news, all are challenging, fun, and hopefully reward you with a bear for the freezer. We go through all these options with Ryan Lampers in our final installment of our spring bear special. Listen in to the end for some great shot placement advice. It may not be what you’ve heard before.

Fried bear, canned bear, bear tacos (burritos if you’re Jim), bear BQ sandwiches, bone-in bear hams - hungry yet? In this installment of our spring bear special, bear chef extraordinaire, Ryan Lampers, dispels bear meat myths, takes us through all the great attributes of bear meat, why it’s his favorite wild game, and hucks out a few of his go-to preparations. Tune in and get your salivatory glands fired up!

Hunting spring black bears is growing in popularity! But where the heck do you find these walking delicacies? What should you be looking for? Good questions! That’s why we grabbed spring bear/all-around outdoor expert, Ryan Lampers, to give us a zero-to-sixty crash course on that very topic. Terrain features, water features, food sources, what slope they will likely be on at different times throughout the spring and more are covered in first installment of our 10-minute talk spring bear special.