Vortex Nation Podcast

Vortex Optics

Welcome to the Vortex Nation Podcast. Brought to you by lovers of hunting, shooting, public lands, the Second Amendment and dang good food.

Subscribe Listen in podnod RSS feed Show website

941 episodes
Updated Yesterday

Episodes941

Newest first

Jul 23, 2019 · 10 min
#10MinuteTalk - Wild Game Cooking Fails
Wild game is a prized commodity for hunters, which creates anxiety for many over simply not screwing it up when it comes time to cooking for yourself and the family. Rest assured, we’ve all made mistakes in the kitchen when it comes to our quarry. Mark, Jimmy and Erik discuss some of their biggest fails in the kitchen in 10 minutes to hopefully relieve some of the pressure you’re putting on yourself to always be a perfect chef, and perhaps, to help you avoid the same mistakes they made in these
Jul 22, 2019 · 50 min
Ep. 85 | Venison Burger Cook-off 2019
It’s grilling season and that means time to break out those packs of frozen grind, thaw them up and pound out some patties for family and friends. Mark, Erik and new guest Colin, armed with ground moose, whitetail and elk, respectively, entered into a burger battle to see who had the best recipe, grilling skills and overall execution with yet another new guest, Rebecca, judging their creations to some pretty high standards. Jimmy begs the question – is it sacrilege to make venison in any way oth
Jul 16, 2019 · 10 min
#10MinuteTalk – Jimmy’s First AR
Jimmy and Mark mull over Jimmy’s first AR. They laugh to themselves about how a gun that had every state of the art part from 6 years ago can now seem outdated or generally less exciting in many regards at this point in time, and ponder the question – what will the next “AR-15” be? The AR platform as we know it, or at least the bones by which is has evolved around has remained largely unchanged for decades and “New” firearms continually base their structure and functionality on the AR’s modulari
Jul 15, 2019 · 1 hr 22 min
Ep. 84 | Binoculars: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know
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 upgrade
Jul 9, 2019 · 10 min
#10MinuteTalk – MOA vs MRAD
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
Jul 8, 2019 · 1 hr 18 min
Ep. 83 | Baiting Bears
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
Jul 2, 2019 · 10 min
#10MinuteTalk - Would You Shoot Sasquatch?
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!
Jul 1, 2019 · 1 hr 21 min
Ep. 82 | Hunting For Plants - Foraging With Ryan Muckenhirn
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 abo
Jun 25, 2019 · 10 min
#10MinuteTalk - Mark’s 10/22 - The Revival
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.
Jun 24, 2019 · 24 min
Ep. 81 | Mark’s IntARvention
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 thou
Jun 18, 2019 · 9 min
#10MinuteTalk - Don’t Forget the .243
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.
Jun 17, 2019 · 1 hr 21 min
Ep. 80 | Prince of Wales Alaska Bear Hunt
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 te
Jun 11, 2019 · 10 min
#10MinuteTalk – Angled vs. Straight Spotting Scopes
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.
Jun 10, 2019 · 54 min
Ep. 79 | Is Turkey Hunting Like Elk Hunting?
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 actual
Jun 4, 2019 · 9 min
#10MinuteTalk – 45 Degree Offset Red Dots
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 th
Jun 3, 2019 · 1 hr 9 min
Ep. 78 | Video Games and Guns – Good or Bad?
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
May 29, 2019 · 1 hr 22 min
Ep. 77 | 90% of PRS is Half Mental
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 break
May 28, 2019 · 9 min
#10MinuteTalk - The Evolution of Scope Tube Sizes
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
May 21, 2019 · 10 min
#10MinuteTalk - Cheap Tools You Can’t Live Without – Bone Saw
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.
May 20, 2019 · 1 hr 10 min
Ep. 76 | Reticles 2: How do You Actually Use a “Christmas Tree” Reticle?
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 certai