Vortex Nation Podcast

Mike McDowell, our in-house binocular expert and collector, sits down with Jimmy and Mark to discuss the topic of binoculars. What are they, how do they work, what are the tradeoffs as you move between configurations, which one is the right one for any given user and how can you even tell the difference between different models at different price points? We also get the chance to pick his brain about the new Razor UHD’s and their comparison to the current Razor HD’s, as well as the newly upgraded Crossfire HD’s and Diamondback HD binoculars. If you ever have any questions about binoculars, give us a call and ask for Mike! He’s one of our fantastic technical support staff who has been with the company for the last 30 years and is a wealth of optical knowledge. 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 any one of our social media platforms and using #VortexNationPodcast.

Up North we love the card game of Euchre and no challenge is greater than “Going alone” without your partner across the table. In this episode, Jimmy takes a chance and “Goes alone” with Mark out of the office to discuss MOA vs. MRAD for beginners in 10 minutes. If you’ve been looking for your first optic or even have been shooting for quite some time but are caught up by modern scopes and all the extra choices to make between MOA and MRAD, give this podcast a listen to get your bearings. Bottom line – don’t make it more complicated than it is. In the end, regardless of what you choose, they’re both going to be doing the same thing and it really just comes down to your own personal preference of which form of angular measurement you want to live with. Got more thoughts on MOA vs. MRAD you’d like us to devote more time to? Let us know!

Hunting bears over bait is pretty much a sure thing, right? Wrong. Dan Staton joins us in Episode 83 to discuss baiting bears, how it works, the effort it requires, and whether or not it’s an effective tactic for duping them. With food seemingly everywhere, convincing a wild omnivore to stray from secluded, natural food sources and visit an artificial bait site isn’t easy. Add swirling, mountain winds and thermals that are constantly changing into the mix, and you’ll quickly understand how bears pinpoint your ambush before stepping out of cover. If extending your big game hunting season into the usually dormant spring and summer months is on your bucket list, consider planning a trip to Idaho next spring. Already listened, but want the show notes for reference afterwards? You can find them here: https://vortexoptics.com/vortex-nation-podcast 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 any one of our social media

Three buffoons (Mark, Jimmy, and Erik) discuss whether or not they’d shoot squatch if they saw it in the wild. What are your thoughts? Would you pull the trigger? Maybe it depends? If so, what would it take for you to make the shot if at all? When you’re done with this episode, make sure to check out the “Podcast after the podcast” on Youtube where we discuss what it would take for Mark to put a squatch down!

It’s fun, it’s healthy, it’s a great way to get outside during the off season and if it’s not a phenomenal way to do some serious public land scouting for critters before fall comes around then we’re at a loss for good scouting tips. Ryan Muckenhirn is a foraging fiend who avidly hunts for wild berries, grapes, mushrooms, ramps, onion, garlic, maple syrup and so much more to scratch that off-season hunting itch and make delicious meals and treats. He answers mostly Jimmy and Mark’s questions about foraging, while Erik stuffs his face with freshly made jams and ramp butter, regarding where he goes, how he finds patches of goodies, how to identify what can and can’t be eaten, how to prepare foraged goods and pretty much anything else you’d ever want to know about finding and eating plants and fungi. Already listened, but want the show notes for reference afterwards? You can find them here: https://vortexoptics.com/vortex-nation-podcast As always - let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vo

What once was old became new - then back to old. Thank goodness for that. Jimmy and mark take 10 minutes and talk through the metamorphosis of Mark’s Ruger 10/22 and its return to glory.

It finally happened, Vortex Nation. Jimmy lured Mark into a gripping conversation of large mouth vs. small mouth bass to get his mind settled, and then Ryan Muckenhirn, Erik Barber, Reuben Aleckson, and Jamison Schleicher came in with the surprise of the century – Mark’s very own AR. You’ll have to listen to hear just what was so special about this particular AR, but we can tell you, there really was no other option out there for our dear friend Mark. On an also-serious note – what are your thoughts on the whole “Small Mouth Vs. Large Mouth Bass” thing? Genuinely curious As always - let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation podcast by asking us on any one of our social media platforms and using #VortexNationPodcast.

Per request of Ryan Muckenhirn, we sat down for 10 minutes to show a little love to the .243 Winchester – The 6mm before the 6mm was cool. This nifty little cartridge is very versatile and it would seem that in recent years it’s become somewhat forgotten, perhaps incorrectly so. What are your thoughts on the SAE 6mm? What other calibers do you think deserve a little 10 minutes of love? We’d love to get your thoughts.

Words can’t describe the beauty and how flipping awesome a coastal - Alaska black bear hunt actually is  - unless of course you have Jessy Knock (@ak_mtnbound) Rob Endsley  (@robendsley), and Mark B. taking 1 hour and 22 minutes talking in excited tones about this absolute gem of a place/hunt  -  doing it pretty good justice. If you’re into adventure, pristine wilderness and giant black bears, this is the podcast for you. Follow along as they recount four different stalks on bears, the unique terrain and how these bears are using it (think beach), what these bears are doing/eating, opportunities in the region outside bear hunting, the different ways you can do this hunt and more. As always - let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation podcast by asking us on any one of our social media platforms and using #VortexNationPodcast.

Ryan Muckenhirn joins Jimmy to chat about the real differences between straight and angled spotting scopes in 10 minutes. We get this question all the time from hunters, shooters, and recreational observers and figured it was high time we addressed all the most common points of confusion or mystery on the topic. Have more questions that we didn’t get to? Hit us up on Instagram or via any other social media/e-mail/phone method and we’re happy to help you out.

What started out as a laughable conversation topic between Mark, Erik and the guys from The Hunting Public, Hushin, Born and Raised Outdoors and Sam Soholt off air suddenly became a legit topic to discuss for the podcast. Can hunting turkeys actually be compared closely to hunting elk? Of course there are inherent differences, but listen to these guys, all of which have extensive experience hunting both species, and you’ll likely be as surprised as we were to realize how many similarities actually exist. What are your thoughts? Have you done both or just one? If just one – has this podcast gotten you excited to try the other? Special thanks to this superstar group of guests who came up to Wisconsin to join us in the driftless region for a big-time collab turkey hunt, which was both an awesome adventure (Go check out their pages for some behind the scenes as well!) and a great learning experience as well, as you’ll hear in this episode! @thehuntingpublic @gethushin @bornandraisedoutdoors @samsoholt As always -

Competition, duty use and certain hunting scenarios can all benefit from the utilization of a 45 degree offset red dot. Why? Reuben and Adam join Jimmy for 10 minutes to give you the quick and dirty behind offset red dots, their history, their applications in numerous shooting scenarios and why you might even want to use an offset red dot even when your primary optic is also a red dot! This episode comes to you via a listener request. We love getting listener requests for these talks, so keep them coming, Vortex Nation!

Violent first person shooting/hunting video games and guns in real life – Good combo or bad combo? Jimmy, Jamison and Erik, three millennials who have spent a great deal behind the controller of some of the biggest names in first person shooters like Halo, Medal of Honor, Big Game Hunter, Call of Duty and Battlefield to name a few, discuss their personal experiences having played many of the most controversial video games as kids and then getting into firearms, recreational shooting and hunting as adults. This particular topic should hit close to home, even if you don’t play video games yourself, because many of the arguments against video games like these have angles back towards the firearms that so many law abiding citizens own and use responsibly today. The fact is, there are a lot of people engaged in hobbies and lifestyles now that they wouldn’t have gained interest in had they not played it in a video game as kids. In our industry, we should be excited about the idea of more people getting involved in,

Regina Milkovich and Jim See join Nick Laufenberg and Jimmy in this episode to discuss the important mental aspect of PRS shooting. In a competitive sport that combines skill, precision, using gear to its maximum capability and endurance with many competitions lasting two days, staying in the right frame of mind to execute shots properly and ultimately end up on the podium is paramount. Drawing on years of experience in shooting PRS and other forms of competition, Jim and Regina talk about breaking down the sport into its simplest form, staying confident, preparing yourself as a shooter before a match, trusting your gear and even important aspects of safety at matches as well. If you’ve been shooting PRS for years, just started or are even contemplating getting into the sport, it’s time to quit stressing over single-digit SD’s (Standard deviations) in your loads and start preparing your mind for success. As always - let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation podcast by asking

In today’s day and age, it can already be hard to imagine a time where 30mm tubes were borderline unheard of. Ryan Muckenhirn and Jimmy buzz in for a 10 minute chat to talk about the evolution of scope tube sizes since Mr. Muckenhirn started in this industry not that long ago in relativity. It begs the question, will scope tubes continue growing? Will scopes of the future even be tubular at all? When will we go back to SAE in terms of measurement and quit using all this “Millimeter” crap? (Just kidding on that last one). We’d love to hear your thoughts!

Wood and bones – two things you very well may need to cut when you’re out in the field, and doing so without a proper saw can be a real pain in the tush. Thankfully, small saws like the one we talk about in this podcast are inexpensive, can be delivered to your door free via Amazon Prime in one day and will help you enjoy one of the best cuts of meat very few other people enjoy – The ribs.

Reuben and Justin Lipska, new guest to the show and also new employee here at Vortex in our shooting range, join Mark and Jimmy to take a deeper dive specifically into the technical reticles (You know - The cool looking ones) we commonly see in long range riflescopes. More specifically, three of the reticles we focus on in this episode are the EBR-7C reticle and the Horus H59 and Tremor3 reticles. How can you use these reticles to their maximum capability, Is one better than the other for certain situations, what situations would one find themselves even using these seemingly “Busy” reticles, and much more. What’s your favorite reticle for long range shooting? We’d love to hear it! As always - let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation podcast by asking us on any one of our social media platforms and using #VortexNationPodcast.

The long-standing perception amongst shooters is that bolt guns hands-down out shoot gas guns in terms of accuracy and long range capability. In the past this was certainly true, and gas guns were simply held to a lower standard in accuracy than bolt guns were. But now, have gas guns made enough strides to match their bolt gun counterparts? Are they a more viable solution for long range precision shooting? We grabbed Dillen Easly, competitive shooter of many disciplines, and Garrett Grover of Rise Armament, manufacturer of gas guns, to chat about this very topic. You’ll also learn the difference between mechanical and “practical” accuracy (A term admittedly just made up by Garrett on the spot) and how they affect your groups and performance at long range, as well as how it may even affect the barrel life for your gun for you individually. As always - let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation podcast by asking us on any one of our social media platforms and using #VortexNation

After drooling over the famed Ruger M77 in a Petersen’s Magazine as a 12 year old boy, Rick just couldn’t help himself and begged his dad to get one as his first deer rifle. After 16 years, he still breaks it out every season to fill the freezer. We got 10 minutes with him to chat about this rifle’s story, why Rick chose one chambered in God’s cartridge of .270 Win (The answer involves an old computer game), and how he’s modified its sight mounting system with a Weigatinny rail and precision matched rings to squeeze a little more reliability and accuracy out of it. What was your first hunting rifle? Is it still in your rotation or still your primary go-to rifle today? We’d love to hear about it!

Dust off that old 10/22, go buy a bucket o’ bullets and prepare to have a ton of fun. Thought rimfire was just for kids and squirrel hunters? Think again, Cheyenne Dalton joins Mark, Jimmy and another special guest and frequent listener, Trent Brenny, to talk about the world of competitive rimfire shooting. Cheyenne started out her competitive shooting career in rimfire with a purple 10/22 she got at a WalMart and wound up going all the way to win the rimfire world championship in her division. From cowboy action rimfire shooting with lever actions to NRL precision .22 with bolt guns that mimic full-size precision rifles, there’s a cheap and super fun way to stay frosty and better your overall skills as a shooter with rimfire. As always - let us know if there are any topics you'd like covered on the Vortex Nation podcast by asking us on any one of our social media platforms and using #VortexNationPodcast.