Vortex Nation Podcast

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

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941 episodes
Updated Yesterday

Episodes941

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Aug 11, 2025 · 1 hr 20 min
Ep. 406 | Stocks Versus Chassis — What’s Your Pick?
This round-table discussion takes place around a table loaded with a wide variety of rifle stocks and chassis. Models, features, total wight, and material composition abound. Mark Boardman, Ryan Muckenhirn and precision-rifle-shooter Mike Tassoul talk through what they like, where each is optimal, and what works best for them.
Aug 5, 2025 · 38 min
#10MinuteTalk - Backcountry Meal Taste Test — Know Before You Go!
Food Selection in the backcountry can make or break your hunt. From simply having to choke down what should be a reward at the end of a hard day, to hunt-ruining gastrointestinal issues, it’s good practice to know before you go. Just trust us here! Mark Boardman, Ryan Muckenhirn and new-to-the podcast, Rylan Benson, bring their favorites to share. Get some tips, stories, and the “why” behind their selection in this ultra-fun dish-to-pass episode.
Aug 4, 2025 · 1 hr 25 min
Ep. 405 | Answering Your Questions
You asked, we answered. Light-hearted to technical, the gang is back answering listener questions. There’s a little bit of everything in this buffet of banter.
Jul 29, 2025 · 48 min
#10MinuteTalk - Archery Releases for Bowhunting
Selecting a release for compound bowhunting is a big decision. Styles and opinions abound. Mark Boardman, Ryan Muckenhirn, and one of the most consistent whitetail whackers we know, Erik Barber, team up to give their thoughts.
Jul 28, 2025 · 1 hr 9 min
Ep. 404 | Advanced Antelope Tactics with Eastmans’ Hunting
Ike Eastman and Brandon Mason from Wyoming-based Eastmans’ Hunting break down antelope tips and tactics that will have you breaking down your next big buck. On the surface, pursuing these critters may seem simple. That can be true, but when you dive into their biology, habitat, and unique behaviors, there’s more to antelope hunting than meets their big eyes.
Jul 22, 2025 · 29 min
#10MinuteTalk - Unlock Hidden Tikka Performance — Economical Aftermarket Upgrades
Up the performance of your Tikka with aftermarket accessories that don’t break the bank. Small, inexpensive, easy to implement changes can yield big results and options from a wide swath of reputable manufacturers abound. Mark Boardman, Erik Barber and Ryan Muckenhirn talk through several to consider.
Jul 21, 2025 · 50 min
Ep. 403 | Flintlock Muzzleloader Hunting with Clay Hayes
Take your muzzleloader hunting to the next level by taking a step back in time with a flintlock. Primitive weapon, hunting, and bushcraft expert, Clay Hayes, sits down with Mark Boardman to talk about flint-lock hunting. They cover what makes them fun, challenging, rewarding, specific hunts, and how they work.
Jul 15, 2025 · 39 min
#10MinuteTalk - Cool Guns with Ian Klemm — Double Rifle Made For a Prince
Vortex’s Ian Klemm, the “King of Collectable Firearms,” drops in with one made for a Prince. Tune in to hear all about this petite double rifle and the sleuthing Ian did to learn its royal heritage.
Jul 14, 2025 · 1 hr
Ep. 402 | Defending Your Castle — Carbine, Shotgun, or Pistol?
The drywall dust has settled. Mark Boardman and Ryan Muckenhirn are back in the podcast studio analyzing their respective home defense firearm choices — and how they performed. Gel, drywall, and a move-and-shoot course made for an interesting test yielding interesting results. What are you selecting to defend your castle? This episode may help guide that decision.
Jul 8, 2025 · 33 min
#10MinuteTalk - Hunt Stories — The Snake and The Skunk
Telling the story is 1/3 the hunt. Some stories are memorable for reasons outside of coming home with your quarry. Mark Boardman, Sawyer Briel, and Graham Cronin team up to tell a few funny ones.
Jul 7, 2025 · 1 hr 51 min
Ep. 401 | Raw Horsepower — John Lazzeroni of Lazzeroni Arms Visits Vortex
Long-range pioneer, innovator, rifle builder, and cartridge designer, John Lazzeroni, drops by to showcase his high-stepping, hard-hitting rifles. The guys shoot his new 7.82 Warbird 110 grain loading at more than 4,000 fps. and the 9.53 Saturn pushing a 300-grain projectile north of 3,000 fps. In-depth history and great stories from a guy who was doing long range before it was a thing.
Jul 1, 2025 · 44 min
#10MinuteTalk - Hammer Bullets — Do They Hammer?
Hammer Bullets are a proverbial new kid on the bullet block. But are they built to knock the blocks off big game? Lathe turned with incredible precision, they are uniquely engineered to expand rapidly, shed pedals, and have the shank continue through the animal. Their design subscribes to a terminal-performance philosophy departing from the monolithic projectile norm. Are they the perfect balance? Mark Boardman and Ryan Muckenhirn join up to try and sort that out.
Jun 30, 2025 · 1 hr 2 min
Ep. 400 | Left-Handed Shooter Considerations
It’s unfair, but left-handed shooters are often left out, disregarded, and dismissed when it comes to products designed to accommodate their handedness. High-level competitive shooters and left-handers, Adam Maxwell and Ian Klemm swing by to give us the rundown on left-handed shooter considerations. Firearm features, special equipment, competitive advantages/disadvantages and simply adapting to right-hand firearms, we cover it all.
Jun 27, 2025 · 46 min
Ep. 399 | Your Public Land is at Risk of Being Sold — MeatEater’s Ryan Callaghan Breaks It Down
MeatEater’s Director of Conservation, Ryan Callaghan sits down to talk us through current legislation being considered that aims to sell off America’s public lands — and what you can do to make your voice heard. This is a non-partisan issue that impacts anybody who appreciates and enjoys our public lands in any capacity. If this legislation is accepted, not only will we not get these lands back, it sets a dangerous precedent for the future. Get in the fight.
Jun 24, 2025 · 38 min
#10MinuteTalk - Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission Caught in Gross Misconduct
Violations of open meetings laws, collusion with animal extremists on policy matters, exclusion of tribal co-managers when legally bound to consult, and more. Todd Adkins from Sportsmen’s Alliance joins Mark Boardman to tell us all about the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission’s gross misconduct — and what Sportsmen’s Alliance is doing to expose/address it.
Jun 23, 2025 · 49 min
Ep. 398 | Daniel Defense H9 — The New Do-All Pistol?
In this twisty tale of two pistols, Vortex’s Adam Maxwell brings in the original Hudson H9 and the present-day Daniel Defense H9. The overall concept of blending desirable attributes of the beloved 1911 and today’s popular striker-fired pistols is the same, the pistols themselves are very different. We cover the saga, the features, and what it offers the shooter.
Jun 17, 2025 · 33 min
#10MinuteTalk - Hunting Regulation Changes — In the News
State fish and game agencies update their regulations every year. Some changes are bigger than others. Mark Boardman and Ryan Muckenhirn highlight a few sure to elate or infuriate. Tune in and stay in the know.
Jun 16, 2025 · 1 hr 38 min
Ep. 397 | Hunting the UK — The Trip You Didn’t Know You Needed
Hunting the UK is a world apart from hunting North America — which is exactly why you should add it to your hunting to-do list. 5 species of deer, culture, stunning landscapes, tradition, and history are just a few things that make this place special. Rob Gearing from Spartan Precision joins Mark Boardman to tell us all about it! Tune in only if you’re ok planning a trip immediately after.
Jun 10, 2025 · 58 min
#10MinuteTalk - Single Shot Rifles — Economical to Extravagant
Simple, utilitarian, elegant, romantic, inexpensive, exorbitantly priced — single shot rifles run the gamut. They also share undeniable commonalities. Ian Klemm and Ryan Muckenhirn drop by the studio to chat with Mark Boardman about single shot rifles, their charm, and where they sit in today’s rifle landscape.
Jun 9, 2025 · 1 hr 16 min
Ep. 396 | The Quarter-Bore Revival
Quarter-bores like the 25-06 have spent their lives in the shadows of more popular cartridges. Cult followings of folks in the know have kept them alive — barely. Was not reaching their full potential the reason they never got to sit at the cool kid’s table? Could spinning higher weight, higher BC bullets faster breathe new life into old classics — and birth new cartridges like the 25 Creedmoor? Are 25’s the new sweet spot? Will they finally go to prom? Matt Pederson from Pederson Precision stop