Vortex Nation Podcast

Remember that time after our first podventure when Jimmy and Mark said they’d never reload again? Well, technically we’re not reloading just yet… We’re wildcatting! Wildcatting is essentially the process of throwing caution to the wind, along with all other familiar territory and off-the-shelf parts for loading your own ammunition and attempting to develop your own cartridge. Of course, Mark and Jimmy aren’t going to do this by themselves, so they’ve enlisted our local cartridge expert, Ryan Muckenhirn, to basically do all the work of making a kick butt cartridge. In this episode, we go through what wildcatting is, why you might want to do it, and how one would even go about beginning such a process. We also unveil our concept for the “6.5 BC” (And you know what “B.C.” stands for!) 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

You don’t need to be a cyclops to enjoy all the benefits a Monocular offers. We grab resident optics expert and coinsure Michael McDowell to break down these handy optics and all the great performance they offer. Light, fast, and mechanically simple, monoculars are easy to carry and always at the ready when you need them!

Jeremiah Doughty from @fromfieldtoplate joins Jimmy and Sawyer (Mark was out on a Blacktail hunt) to talk all things wild game cooking. Jeremiah himself is a self-proclaimed wild game chef and spends his time traveling the world hunting and preparing amazing meals with the meat he harvests. While we can all agree that pretty much anything wild game is going to taste great, you may be feeling stuck in a rut with steaks and jerky time after time following the hunting season and want to venture out into some more culinary masterpieces. Jeremiah not only has the ideas and recipes to get you going, but also the motivation you need to get a little wilder in the kitchen. We also talk great stories from Jeremiah’s experience of hunter recruitment and winning over minds through people’s taste buds and some fun cooking – even a Panda-Express-orange-chicken-inspired pheasant recipe! 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

What’s in a name? We’ll, lots of things – and possibly even some misconceptions. Safari Club International (SCI) has been fighting for hunters, rights, traditions, culture, and essentially our way of life for years. They are all about domestic and international hunting, but make no mistake, it isn’t all lions and zebras. Tune in to this super interesting conversation with Ben Cassidy from SCI as we chat about, what SCI is doing for you, how they are doing it and some serious battles they are fighting right now. Bear hunting, Tahr hunting in New Zealand, and simply hunting on Sunday in some states - which if you do the math is 50% of your weekend - are just a few things they are taking head-on. Even if a threat isn’t in your back yard, it’s important we support our fellow hunters and organizations like SCI. Together we are strong – and eventually it might be you and your traditions that need a helping hand.As always, we want to hear your feedback! Let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the V

Reuben Aleckson joins Jimmy and Mark to talk about spotting scope eyepieces and when it might make sense to swap your included variable zoom eyepiece for a long eye relief, wide angle, and/or reticle eyepiece. The ability with certain spotting scopes to change the eyepiece allows for the opportunity to specialize your optic to specific applications, making it much more effective for searching, spotting, calling shots or seeing more clearly at different times of day or different distances. We hope to do a more in-depth episode in the future more specifically on spotting scopes as a whole and how they work – if you have any ideas before we record that episode for what you’d like to hear – hit us up in the comments!

Map and compass: Archaic tools of hunters past or essential kit for anyone navigating the wilderness. We sit down with Greg McHale (Greg McHale’s Wild Yukon TV) to discuss traditional land navigation, all it’s advantages, and get lost in conversation. Bad pun intended. Tune in or get lost. Bad pun number two! Promise no more, but give this one a listen.  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

Ryan Muckenhirn joins Jimmy and Mark to discuss a cartridge that came up in one of our many “Podcasts after the podcast” conversations, the 8mm-06. While the cartridge itself is intriguing, it’s the history behind why it was made and the people who requested its creation that is so awesome. We’d love to know if any of you out there are using or loading for the 8mm-06. If so – let us know in the comments on YouTube or on Instagram!

As the temperatures drop, there’s no mistaking the fact that we feel colder and time spent in the woods or on the mountain gets a bit more uncomfortable. Sure, the right gear and a healthy dose of mental toughness can simply get you through the cold temps, but how about your gear? What affects does the cold weather have on your optics, electronics, firearm, bullet, etc? Also, even if you “Feel” fine, what sorts of things can be happening to your body in extreme cold that you should be aware of? Ryan Muckenhirn joins Jimmy and Mark to discuss all these things and more! 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 our long-time listeners and fellow gun enthusiast, William Elliot, joined us for an episode talking all about the 7.62x54R cartridge and the most famous gun in history to shoot the cartridge, The Mosin Nagant. He even brought some of his own for show and tell! Ryan Muckenhirn was also in attendance to drop his historical knowledge on the platforms and the cartridge. We discuss how Mosin’s went from dirt cheap to expensive in relatively short order, how accurate they really can be, the many merits of the 7.62x54R and the differences between the various rifles that shot the round. William’s collection on the table included a classic 91/30, an M44 carbine with folding stock, and a totally legit sniper model.  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

Do you suffer from sloppy pack syndrome? Maybe you don’t even know you have it? There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to properly packing your backpack for a hunt – on the way in with gear and on the way out when you’re hopefully loaded down heavy with meat! There’s an order of operations, spots weight carries best, tricks for utilizing straps and more. We sit down with Joey Pyburn, Outdoor Line Radio Host and frequent packer-outer of big game, as he details the tricks of the trade.

Terminal ballistics, how your bullet performs once it hits a game animal. We talk a lot about velocity, BC’s, etc., but if your bullet doesn’t work how you want it to upon impact, well, F. Mark and Jim connect up with Jason Nash from Federal ammunition to get the rundown on this more than interesting topic. Bonded bullets, polymer tips, bullets that retain weight, bullets that “dump energy” - We cover a lot of ground and ultimately feel like there may be more meat on the bone with this one, so stay tuned for a part two. 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

We sit down with Sam Soholt to chat through his super unique and impactful “Stamp it Forward” program and all the cool stuff 98% of every duck stamp purchase has done for wild things in wild places. The Federal Duck Stamp  -  It isn’t just another license. It’s a conservation win for the ages! And one thing is certain, it gets our “Stamp of Approval”.

Jimmy and Mark are once again joined by one of the optical engineers here on the team at Vortex, Christian Benson. Christian schools us on all the questions we could muster around the topic of “Light Transmission” in the optics we use. What is “Light transmission”, how is it measured, what makes an optic better/worse in low light scenarios and all the common misconceptions about light transmission. He also walks us through an optical glass chart and discusses lens design, coatings, size and how all these things play into the systems he and his team engineer. Light is the reason all of our optics work in the first place and it’s a fascinating thing that, as usual, blows our minds every time we talk about it!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

Jimmy and Mark try a recipe from Hank Shaw with some surprise frozen jack rabbit found at the back of the podcast room freezer. Why do Jack rabbits seem to get a bad rap for their flavor? Can a bold tasting stew like this one make it better, or did we get ourselves into a pickle by using a half-broken ninja cooker to whip it up? Have you guys tried Jack Rabbit before? If so, how did you do it and how did it turn out?

Zach Ferenbaugh of The Hunting Public joins Jimmy, Mark and Erik to discuss “Unorthodox rut tactics” in what couldn’t be a timelier podcast for deer season! As many who follow the THP crew know, they're a huge proponent of hunting from the ground and can often be seen making moves that break the traditional “Rule book” of whitetail hunting. Zach shares why you should never sit idle and wait for a “locked down” buck to come to you (since it probably won’t), why making noise while hunting might not be the worst thing in the world, and also why bumping deer isn’t the end of the world – it didn’t disappear from the earth, go over and shoot it!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

Mark Kenyon of Wired to Hunt joins Jimmy and Mark remotely from camp to discuss the history behind starting Wired to hunt, what led him to want to quit his “Regular” job and make podcasting and journaling a full-time gig, and why he loves hunting whitetails so much. Wired to Hunt is undoubtedly one of the longest standing and most popular hunting podcasts in the industry and the fact that it was started by a regular guy with a passion for the outdoors and a hard work ethic makes for an even more incredible and oddly relatable story! 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

Offhand shooting in and of itself is skill completely unique and different from shooting with any form of rest. It adds in so many more variables to the equation and we immediately see how unsteady we can be when trying to maintain pin-point accuracy with only our bodies holding the weight of the rifle in front of us. The gun begins to get heavy and our muscles begin to shake, the motion created by our breathing begins to affect point-of-aim and even our heartbeats can be a factor! Ryan Muckenhirn and Erik Barber join Jimmy and Mark to discuss offhand shooting and some of the best tips and tricks they’ve learned over the years to get achieve better accuracy and likeliness of hitting the intended target. This could come in handy for those of us about ready to take to the field for gun deer season! 

Cool content and taking hunter recruitment by the horns – We sit down with Tom and Nathan Crick of Identical Draw to chat about their revolutionary “New Hunter Project”, where they have dedicated their season to taking folks from 0-to-60 on the bowhunting scale. Multiple states, multiple species, and multiple sets of hunters they’ve never met before will make this a season for the books – and quite possibly transform the lives of all involved in a positive and meaningful way. There is always a lot of talk when it comes to hunter recruitment, but often, that is where it ends. These guys are doing something about that. And oh yeah, if you are into really cool hunting videos, podcasts, etc., check out their YouTube channel and more! 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

Adrian and Pete from Vortex EDGE join Jimmy and Mark after a full day of training home defense scenarios in the indoor shoot house at our facility. In this episode, we discuss mentally preparing for a home defense situation and the many different ways it can present itself. The Vortex EDGE crew explains why “Clearing your own house” is a bad idea, but rather, how you should actually consider movement through your home and prioritizing what’s most important at that given time to develop your strategy for keeping you and your family safe. We also dive into the legal aspects of home defense and the surprisingly reality that someone simply being in your home at night uninvited is almost certainly not enough reason to use deadly force against them. Other topics include; what should you keep by your nightstand for home defense, overpenetration, and how to manage a household with numerous family members in different rooms. If you’d like to learn more and find some great classes to better your own skills in person wi

Kyle McNally, First time podcast guest and our instructor for practical martial arts for the day, joins Jimmy and Mark following a morning of learning the fundamentals of real world self-defense without a firearm. In this episode, we discuss the profound importance of understanding how to defend one’s self without relying on the deadly force of a firearm using basic and intuitive movements from martial arts, wrestling and other hand-to-hand combative disciplines. Kyle explains how the non-deadly-force situation is far more likely for one to find themselves in than a deadly force situation and how understanding these fundamentals can help one keep calm, stay safe, avoid deadly injury to either party, and avoid a legal nightmare after the fact. If you’d like to learn more and find some great classes to better your own skills in person with professional instructors like Kyle, we’ll be bringing in guest instructors like this to Vortex EDGE in the future, so keep your eyes peeled! Also stay tuned for the next epis