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

Jan 3, 2019 · 1 hr 2 min
Ep. 40 | What is The Mammoth Sniper Challenge?
Jimmy, Mark and Nick Laufenberg join Chris Andrews of Best Targets and Kristina Pugh from Grunt Style to discuss one of the most grueling and challenging shooting matches ever spawned – The Mammoth Sniper Challenge. This 3-day event takes place in early January and tests shooters’ endurance, skill and willpower as they ruck nearly 10 miles every day with precision long range shooting stations dispersed amongst their route. In the evening, those who opt for the tough-guy challenge are also requir
Dec 31, 2018 · 1 hr 27 min
Ep. 39 | Not all Public Lands are Created Equal – With Land Tawney and Jason Meekhof of BHA
Land Tawney, President/CEO of Back Country Hunters & Anglers (BHA), and Jason Meekhof, BHA Great Lakes Chapter Coordinator, sit down with Mark and Jimmy to talk BHA’s history and mission, as well as breaking down the huge variety of state, local and federal public lands at your disposal and their different attributes. We discuss BHA’s current main objectives, the differences between state and federal public lands, the politics and behind-the-scenes action behind each type of public land and what
Dec 24, 2018 · 57 min
Ep. 38 | Semi-Live: How to Sight in Your Riflescope – It’s Easy!
Ever listened to a podcast where the hosts are also shooting while talking? Continuing with our semi-live series on setting up your rifle, we’ve gone from mounting the optic to getting things zeroed in and ready to go at your first trip to the range. Proper equipment, bore sighting, 3-round groups, making adjustments and troubleshooting potential road bumps are just a few of the things we discuss in this podcast at the range. Sighting in a riflescope can be intimidating to newer shooters venturi
Dec 20, 2018 · 1 hr
Ep. 37 | Gear Gurus and Our Ever-Evolving Hunting World
Judson Jennings and Kendall Card from Camofire, Blackovis, Crispi Boots USA and a host of other outdoors and hunting related entities sit down with Mark, Jimmy and Paul to discuss their history in the outdoor hunting gear and apparel business and the ever-evolving world of hunting from tactics to the gear we wear in the field. Not only do these guys get out and use the very products they sell to the max, but so do their employees, who are always ready to answer calls and e-mails to help fellow h
Dec 17, 2018 · 1 hr 18 min
Ep. 36 | Ultralight Hunting – How Light Can You Go?
Ultralight hunters make up a strange mix of total nerds and freak athletes – almost all bound to conquer some of the roughest terrain on the planet in search of rare and unique game. If you’ve ever been forced to listen to their endless stressing over ounces or studied their kit and all its strange gadgets and wondered to yourself – “Why don’t you just do more pushups and carry normal stuff?” – Perhaps this podcast will change your tune. International man of mystery and ultralight hunter extraor
Dec 10, 2018 · 1 hr 5 min
Ep. 35 | Gun Season Deer Tactics
"Sit day one, drive day two." What more could there be to gun season deer tactics? Amidst all the chaos in some states, how can you still manage to set yourself up for a successful hunt? Is it even worth it to go out after opening day/weekend? What exactly is a deer drive anyway and is there really a "right" way to do it? These are just a few of the topics discussed in this episode dedicated to gun deer season primarily in the midwest with our special guest, Jake Huebschman, from the Hunting Pub
Dec 3, 2018 · 1 hr 14 min
Ep. 34 | Hey! That’s My Spot
Full disclosure – this can be a touchy subject for a lot of hunters. The topic of public disclosure of hunting “spots” came up after a past episode and Jimmy, Mark, Ryan and Erik all have some varying thoughts on the matter. Do hunters of public land gain too much of a sense of ownership over certain hunting areas? Hunter recruitment is lower than ever, but are some hunters actually happy about it? Is this more an issue of opposing sides simply not wanting their counterparts to have “Too easy of
Nov 26, 2018 · 1 hr 18 min
Ep. 33 | Obscure Guns Show-and-Tell 1
For nearly all of us (With the exception of Mark) firearms are more than just tools - They’re engineering marvels with interesting origins and stories associated with their creation and applications throughout history. Jimmy and Mark sit down with firearms enthusiasts Ryan Muckenhirn, Jimmy Jordan, Adam Maxwell and new guest Ian Klemm to talk about a whole host of obscure, interesting, historical and downright awesome firearms from their collections and the numerous rabbit trails that inevitably
Nov 19, 2018 · 52 min
Ep. 32 | UML: The New Traditional (3 Gun)
Adam and Reub get back from UML (United Multigun League) Traditional Nationals Match and sit down with Jimmy and Mark to discuss all manner of things 3 Gun. First off – we’ve never really talked about where the sport of 3 Gun even came from! What’s the deal with these different divisions of 3 Gun and what is this relatively new and quickly growing division called UML? What was it about this UML Traditional Nationals match that made Reuben say it was his “Favorite match of the season”? And why th
Nov 12, 2018 · 1 hr 15 min
Ep. 31 | Difficult Blood Trails
With so much focus on the hunting strategies and tactics that lead up to the shot, it’s easy to overlook the most important events that follow – picking up the blood trail. The sound of the hit, animal’s body language, and sign left behind like hair and color/texture of blood all dictate your next move to recover the animal. Jimmy, Mark, Paul, Ryan, and Erik all sit down to discuss some of the craziest blood trails and the wild-goose chases they were led on and what they learned from the experie
Nov 5, 2018 · 1 hr 5 min
Ep. 30 | The Winter Shooting Rut: Real, Easy Tips, Techniques, Activities and Hunts to Stay Sharp
Days are getting shorter, snow is starting to fall, old man winter is making it harder to get to the range to hone our skills and practice our favorite pastime of shooting... If you're in the North that is... Jimmy and Mark chat with Reuben Aleckson and Adam Maxwell, two top-level shooters who manage to shoot and practice year round despite living in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin, about methods for honing one's shooting skills during the winter months indoors. Dry firing, practicing motor skill
Nov 1, 2018 · 1 hr 15 min
Ep. 29 | Squirrel Hunt and A Dang Good Huntin' Talk With Pat Durkin
After hitting a local piece of public land in search of squirrels (Much to no avail) Mark, Jimmy and Pat Durkin, a man of many talents, loads of hunting knowledge and a slew of cool life experiences sit down for a good, classic huntin' talk. From the rise of big game hunting and the related fall in small game hunting licenses sold to first time hunters, cross-cultural differences in food norms and changes in common hunting practices from the 70's to current times, if you make hunting a part of y
Oct 29, 2018 · 1 hr 6 min
Ep. 28 | Reticles: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know
Let’s face it – without reticles, riflescopes would just be gun-mounted spotting scopes. Reticles are supremely important to shooters and hunters by delivering critical data from 100 yard zeroes to bullet drop, range estimation to improved speed and accuracy up close. They’re also one of the biggest question marks when it comes to purchasing a new riflescope or learning how to use one you already have. Jimmy, Mark, Jimmy (Not a typo) and Nick do a deep dive on reticles from traditional and simpl
Oct 25, 2018 · 54 min
Ep. 27 | Hunt Year 'Round - Weekend South Dakota Bowhunt - DIY Adventure
In the Backcountry Hunting 101 podcast we eluded to Erik going on his first western hunts this year. This episode recaps his opening weekend South Dakota mule deer hunt from September. If you think you need to block off a ton of time from your work calendar or honey-do list, think again - this entire out of state hunt took only 3 days! In addition to Erik’s biggest takeaways from the hunt, we’ll also dive into some tips that you might find helpful while planning your own hunt outside of your ho
Oct 22, 2018 · 1 hr 7 min
Ep. 26 | Wisconsinites Can Now Ask the Question, “Did You Draw Your Elk Tag”
Jim, Erik and Mark sit down with cool-ass-dude and Wisconsin DNR big game ecologist Kevin Wallenfang, to chat about an elk hunt 23 years in the making, bull on bull crime, submarine communication, and 17000 (give or take) amazingly interesting facts about Wisconsin’s elk herd. Kevin’s been at the heart of this wildlife success story from the start. And when we say heart – we mean it. Kevin loves these elk and all the folks who’s hard work has paid off in such a big way – giving Wisconsin a susta
Oct 18, 2018 · 20 min
Ep. 25 | Cheesy, Baconey jalapeño Snow Goose Popper Tacos
Snow Goose often gets a bad rap for its gamey and greasy flavor. We beg to differ, and with a little forethought in your in-the-field game prep and a handy dandy recipe like this one, maybe you’ll find yourself saying otherwise, too. This recipe takes a suggestion we received from a customer for a venison roast brine and applies it to 30+ birds-worth of snow goose breasts from South Dakota. After 24 hours of sitting in the delicious solution, we seasoned them up and tossed them on the Traeger sm
Oct 15, 2018 · 1 hr 3 min
Ep. 24 | PRS (Precision Rifle Series) – What is it and do You Want to Join?
Getting tired of the same old range day – setting up at the bench and lobbing a few rounds down range at targets really, really far away? It’s great therapy, but why not add a little adrenaline and even further skill to your repertoire by entering into PRS competition? It’s not as tough as you think. Scott Parks, Reuben Aleckson and a new guest for the podcast – Nick Laufenberg join the crew to talk what PRS is, how one can join, what equipment you need to compete and the mental hurdles to clear
Oct 8, 2018 · 58 min
Ep. 23 | Reloading 101: What is it and Should You do it?
Some do it for therapy, some for precision and others for mass quantity. Reloading or just regular loading ammunition is nothing new to the industry, but looking from the outside in, it can seem like an intimidating task to take on. Our two newest guests, Jimmy Jordan and Tom Leatherberry, as well as Ryan Muckenhirn have all been reloading for years and all for different reasons. We chat with them about what it is, why someone would want to do it, how you can get started and why "Saving money" i
Oct 3, 2018 · 35 min
Ep. 22 | Hunt Year ‘Round – “Hunt Scouting” South Dakota in September
From HQ, Mark and Jimmy are joined live via Skype by Ryan Muckenhirn at the tail end of his September archery hunt and "Scout Hunt" in pursuit of mule deer. The Slim Butte region of South Dakota is a difficult tag to draw for rifle and Ryan has been accumulating points for the last 7 years. Thinking he's surely due to draw any year now, he decided to get the far easier to draw September archery tag for the unit to scout things out and possibly arrow a deer while he's at it. We talk terrain, deer
Oct 1, 2018 · 1 hr 4 min
Ep. 21 | Backcountry Hunting Tips From the Pros
Gathering upon… “Lots” of experience (Math is hard) combined between Mark, Ryan Muckenhirn and Paul Neess, Erik asks his last-minute questions before heading out to South Dakota and Montana in search of mule deer. Hitting the backcountry can be a daunting task. In a mess of seemingly endless gear optiions, preparation and in-the-field tactics, how can one be sure they know what they’re doing? Well, first thing’s first, it’s not like assembling an Ikea table – You probably shouldn’t just grab a b