Vortex Nation Podcast

“High end” and “AK 47”are two terms we don’t generally see together. Well, unless you’re talking about the gold-pated ones, but that doesn’t really count….The folks over at Dissident Arms have turned conventional wisdom on its head by taking all of the iconic and very positive attributes of the AK 47 and fully customized the platform, transforming it from reliable blaster to precision competition race-gun extraordinaire. They have also perfected AK 12 Gauge shotguns – which are unique and flat-out awesome. Do you have AR’s coming out your ears and are looking for something different to spice things up? The AK may be exactly what you need! Are we experiencing US AK renaissance? Listen in and find out? 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

Action packed, effective, and with some obvious safety considerations a person needs to account for, “Reaping” turkeys is a tactic a person can consider keeping in their turkey tool box. As the name implies, using this method often results in a dead gobbler. Some folks say you should never do it and are violating every safety rule in the book. Others take several precautions and do it all the time – knowing they are accepting a level of risk. As with a lot of things in the good old USA, we’ll leave that up to the individual. One thing is certain, done correctly, the response elicited from what could be a wary, henned up gobbler, can be nothing short of a full-on turkey charge. Jim and Mark sit down with expert turkey reapers, “The Breaking Point” to get the lowdown on the unique strategies they’ve developed. If you want to see this tactic in action, head on over to the Vortex YouTube channel and click on the “Vortex Selects” series these guys put together.

A deer property can be so much more than, well, a deer property. But what’s be best way to create an ecosystem to maximize benefit for all wildlife - including you? Yes, you count as wildlife. Jim and Mark sit down with the team at Land and Legacy to discuss property management, their professional consulting work, habitat and more. Land and Legacy isn’t a one-trick pony. They travel the US and are familiar with landscapes from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts. Each region and property is unique, and these guys are experts at maximizing the true potential of any property. Hinge cuts to burns, water to food plots, timber harvests and more, there’s a lot we can do to be the ultimate steward to the land. Our legacy extends far beyond dusty shoulder mounts on the wall (which are no doubt awesome). Tune in to get some great tips on what your land and legacy can be.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

There’s more than one way to pursue a bear - spot-and-stalk, baiting, hounds. Choose your weapon too – bow, rifle, or muzzleloader. They all have their intricacies. The good news, all are challenging, fun, and hopefully reward you with a bear for the freezer. We go through all these options with Ryan Lampers in our final installment of our spring bear special. Listen in to the end for some great shot placement advice. It may not be what you’ve heard before.

Fried bear, canned bear, bear tacos (burritos if you’re Jim), bear BQ sandwiches, bone-in bear hams - hungry yet? In this installment of our spring bear special, bear chef extraordinaire, Ryan Lampers, dispels bear meat myths, takes us through all the great attributes of bear meat, why it’s his favorite wild game, and hucks out a few of his go-to preparations. Tune in and get your salivatory glands fired up!

Hunting spring black bears is growing in popularity! But where the heck do you find these walking delicacies? What should you be looking for? Good questions! That’s why we grabbed spring bear/all-around outdoor expert, Ryan Lampers, to give us a zero-to-sixty crash course on that very topic. Terrain features, water features, food sources, what slope they will likely be on at different times throughout the spring and more are covered in first installment of our 10-minute talk spring bear special.

Red Dots on pistols are becoming the norm – not the exception. So, what height should your dot sit? Mark and Jim get professional advice on this often-asked question.

AR component and accessory options abound. Wading through them is part of the fun, but can be daunting at the same time. How can two seemingly identical parts have such an extreme price discrepancy? Jimmy and Mark bring in AR-Gurus Adam Maxwell and Reuben Aleckson to dissect the anatomy of an AR, and where to consider dropping coin like brass on a hot range, or where to save money like cartridges during an ammo crisis (that would never happen). Mark even brings in his plaid-lined wicker basket of AR parts as visual-aid. You can rest easy knowing they have been assembled. Let us know in the comments if you want to see the complete rifles before they are mysteriously lost to the ocean in a tragic, undocumented, boating accident.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

For years, Vortex has been making optics for looking through. We still do that, but have jumped headfirst into making things for looking good in as well! Join us, as we chat with Brandon and Erin, who spearhead Vortex Wear, to get their take on our lifestyle apparel, the tech built into it, the “Why” behind it, and more. We also debate the hard-hitting topic of, “Are the new Sun Slayer Shorts dress shorts?” Few places are “clothing-optional” these days (probably a good thing). Vortex Wear can help you with that!

What’s the best way to carry a pistol? Good question! Spoiler alert, there are several ways, but one might just be the best! Find out from expert instructors Adrian and Pete from the Vortex EDGE™ training center, as we tap into their years of professional experience, training, as well as a heck of a lot of trial and error.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

Jim, Mark, and Cooper put their coyote skills to the test during a -18 cold snap, live to tell the tale, and come out successful. They cover their semi-ridiculous 10-hour road trip west, the country they hunted, tactics used, and lessons learned. Perk up your ears and answer the call to listen in!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

More than 40 years in the fur game, owner of the last fur auction house in the US (Fur Harvesters Auction Inc.), super interesting cat, and wealth of knowledge, Greg Schroeder is a damn national treasure! This country was built on the backs of trappers and the furbearers they sought. Greg takes us through his personal history, ranch fur vs. wild, jobs lost to automation, how the fur market works, fluctuations in fur prices, grading fur, fashion and some solid how-to/best practices/avoiding disease info. Hit play and jump in with all four paws to get the low-down on fur!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

Calling and hunting coyotes is fun, insanely challenging, has a wildlife management component, can make you a bit of coin, and insanely challenging. Yes, we said insanely changing twice on purpose! That was for effect. Coyotes are notoriously tough to trick and built to survive. To figure out how to knock a few of these crafty K-9’s down, Mark and Jim have once again enlisted the help of pedigreed coyote hunter Matt McHugh. This podcast was an absolute knowledge dump. From intentionally stopping dogs in their tracks with your tracks, to calling tips, set-up strategies, management goals, voice-calling demos and more, tune in to get your PHD in Coyoteawoligy!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

From small game, to turkey-takedown specialist, modern shotshell design and components have taken the .410 shotgun to new levels - leveling gobblers in its wake. This untraversable caliber (.410 is not a gauge) can be packaged in petite shotguns, making them super handy, lightweight and easy to carry. It’s the perfect for folks looking for those attributes and an ideal fit for smaller-statured hunters. The fact it kicks like a butterfly, is another big plus, particularly when talking turkey loads. Shotgun manufacturers are meeting this growing trend head-on, producing purpose-bult .410’s with turkey-specific features to optimize the platform. Tune in to see if dusting off the 410 in the back of your gun safe, or investing in a new .410 is right for you.

Dehydrating fruits, vegetables, meats and entire meals is quite possibly the best way to preserve them for future use down the road. And if you’re looking for creative ways to optimize the wild game and fish you worked so hard to procure, a quality dehydrator, along with some know-how and experimentation, may just be your ticket to easy lunches at work (just add water), as well as customized backcountry meals and snacks. For the “Know How” portion of this podcast, Mark and Jim sit down with dehydration guru Joey Pyburn (ESPN Outdoor Line Radio) to pick his brain on how to take the water out, while keeping the gourmet in! Dehydrator styles, tips, techniques, favorite recipes and best practices, Joey has ton of experience and shares it all right here, on the 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 Instagram @vortexnationpodcast

Box Call Vs Slate Call – Mark and Erik square off in an epic battle of squawk, while Jim does his best to incite unnecessary drama. For Mark, the decision is like trying to pick your favorite kid. Erik, on the other hand, is adamant the slate is the single and only call you will ever need. From sound-making versatility, ease of use, which one is louder, surface variants, strikers, call care, call prep and more, we go into detail on these two gobbler-getting noise-makers.

Just when you thought we’d gone as far as we could go with the “Long Range 100_” series, Chris Wienche and Mitchell Fitzpatrick from Applied Ballistics showed up and opened our eyes to a whole new layer of long range shooting and understanding of ballistics. Chances are, if you shoot any sort of long range, you use a ballistics calculator. The beauty in using one of these calculators is all the work has already been done for you and you don’t need to be a ballistician to hit the target. Long before you even hit the range, though, someone does have to crunch all those numbers and take every ballistic variable into account – bullet shape, weight, drag, air density, temperature, ballistic jump, spin drift, when a projectile goes transonic, and so much more it would make your head spin! Speaking of heads spinning, that just might be what happens when you tune in to this one. You’ve been warned! Put your nerd cap on and enjoy some pure science flowing right into your ear holes. Don’t forget, too, it’s the great minds behind the scenes like these guys that did the development of the ballistics solutions inside the Fury HD 5000 AB ballistic rangefinding binocular! 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

Mirage: What the hell is it? Where does it come from? How does it affect your optics? How do you deal with it, and can you use it to your advantage? Jim and Mark grab one of the smart guys at Vortex – Engineer, Seth Toy - to get life’s greatest questions answered.

When spring finally hits, it’s time for snow – snow geese that is! These crafty birds are notoriously tough to dupe. You have to want and earn those magical big-number days - so we sit down with Chad and Clay Belding from The Fowl Life TV/This Life Ain’t For Everybody Podcast and multiple other great content platforms to find out how it’s done! From giant decoy spreads (more than 1000), how to lay them out, electronic calls and unplugged shotguns, to countless hours of windshield time and a network of waterfowling friends to help you find the X, this was an informative and fun conversation we won’t soon forget. If you’re up for big challenge, big fun and another outdoor addiction, or are looking to add to your decoy bag of snow goose tricks, hit play and stack the information high!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

Precision rifle shooting, hunting scenarios, bolt guns or AR’s - Integrating a quality tripod purpose-built for shooting (which Vortex not coincidentally offers) into your system is like having a portable bench and third arm that never gets tired. How they attach to your rifle, positioning of the tripod’s legs, positioning of your legs, shooting techniques to optimize the platform, and more, Nick Laufenberg helps us cover some super interesting ground. Listen in only if you’re ok considering a new purchase.

Mike McDowell, Vortex’s in-house expert for everything birds, bugs and binos, takes us through his journey into firearms, shooting and the “friends” he lost because of it along the way. Any time we chat with Mike, we can’t help but dive into super cool bird stuff. We inevitably do that, tell the story of the famed “Golden Crowned Sparrow Conspiracy” and his “involvement”, as well as cover his new-found passion for guns, shooting and how it affected his reputation in certain circles…It just made you even cooler in our book...Every time we chat with Mike McDowell, it’s a darn good time, and this podcast was no exception. 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

Polymer Vs. Metal Magazines. Is one better than the other? If so, why? Jimmy and Mark tap into frequent magazine user/competitive shooter/Military and LE Account Manager/amateur historian, Adam Maxwell, to get his take on the pros and cons of each. Sometimes, to get the answers we seek, you have to go back to the beginning. And for Adam, that is always “The Cold War”.

Steve Rinella - Writer, author, host of MeatEater TV, expert outdoorsman, true conservationist, talented story teller and tons of other complementary traits, sits down with Jimmy and Mark to share some of his “highlight-reel” near-death experiences incurred along the way of this crazy thing we call life. From icy water, to icy roads, with a fair bit of humor (you can always laugh about it later if you live to tell the tale) and a whole lot more, this was a fun one you won’t want to miss! We also dive into Steve’s new book, “The MeatEater Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival” – a must read for any seasoned or budding outdoorsman. This comprehensive book, packed with incredibly useful information gained through first-hand experience and lessons learned the hard way, is designed to get you into the wilderness safely and effectively. Death by selfie, moss myths, mountain lions, food, water, shelter, OCD packing and unpacking, and tons of other great topics - this book might just save your life. 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

Caught or shot, game and fish might as well be gold bricks in your freezer. So it’s good to make sure it’s prepped for long-term storage. Vacuum and Chamber sealers are two of the best ways to do just that. Jim and Mark go through the benefits of both styles, where they shine, and what style may fit your needs best.

Wind, weather, ballistics, technology and more! Jim, Mark, and Reuben sit down with Kestrel long-timer Katie Godfrey to chat through these fascinating devices, their evolution, and Kestrel’s jump into the shooting/ballistics arena. From sailing, rowing, Coxswain’s and how fast air comes out of your hand dryer, to all the tech that goes into these pocket-sized weather statin/ballistic solution marvels, Kestrels are very cool, very interesting and very important for any long-range shooter.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

“Free Floating” your barrel seems like the popular thing to do. Whether it’s AR’s, or bolt guns, it seems as though any non-free-floated barrel is automatically doomed to a life of complete and utter inaccuracy… Right? Ryan Muckenhirn, Jimmy and Mark discuss free floated barrels and whether or not it really is the all-or-nothing way to extracting maximum accuracy out of your rifle - and if a rifle that’s not free floated can even shoot well at all.

A “ Budget Rifle” doesn’t always mean budget performance. In fact, in many cases, quite the opposite. Consumers today are blessed with solid options from major manufacturers that deliver accuracy, durability and shootability rivaling their pinky-up counterparts. Jimmy and Mark grab Ryan Muckenhirn and Reuben Aleckson to cover the finer points of these utilitarian powerhouses. What makes a budget rifle a budget rifle? What are you getting? What are you missing out on? Will it do everything you want, or will you need to modify? Is it worth modifying a budget rifle, or at that point, do you simply upgrade? We cover all this and more in this cost-effective episode of the 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 Instagram @vortexnationpodcast

Look, if you only had one shot, or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment…Wait, in this podcast you only get one magnification for the rest of your life. So what’s it going to be? Jim and Mark take this hypothetical to a group of Hunters, 3-Gunners and Precision rifle shooters to get their take on the single magnification to do it all. You might be surprised by the answers.

Increase your coyote encounters by 10X – Take to the night. Jim and Mark sit down with two-time world coyote calling champion (using his voice) and expert night hunter Matt McHugh to soak up every last ounce of his night hunting expertise. Hunting personally and guiding, Matt spends approximately 150 nights afield each year chasing these crafty critters. To say he speaks from experience is an understatement. We cover calling setups, thermal, night vision, firearms platforms, cartridges, tripod use and more in this night hunting extravaganza. Tune in to up your predator game and put more fur on the ground.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

What rangefinder is right for you? Rangefinding binocular or monocular style? Do you bowhunt or rifle hunt – or both? How far are you shooting? Paul Neess “The Neess” sits down with Jim and Mark to break down the pros and cons of the different styles of rangfinding optics, in a variety of scenarios, for a variety of hunters. Tune in, identify your primary needs and make the best choice.

Jim and Mark get the distinct privilege of having Janis Putelis from MeatEater in the office and take the opportunity to “dive into the mind of a Janis”. We cover blacktail hunting together with Steve on POW, freediving for Sea cucumbers, his hunting origin story (he has two), going from ski instructor to elk guide, behind the scenes MeatEater stuff and more. Habitual handkerchief use, a shared love of the wild turkey, getting surprised by ducks, Janis’s Latvian roots and more - this was a super fun and inciteful conversation with an old friend. Pull up a chair or put your car in drive and join us for the ride.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

What has three legs, a head, and is arguably one of the most important pieces of equipment you can have on a glass-intensive hunt or at the range? Tripods, of course! Mark and Jimmy hang out with the very tripod-obsessed Ryan Muckenhirn to talk about why these pieces of equipment are so important, how you can choose which type of tripod is best for you, and not only glassing off tripods, but also shooting off them as well! Best of all, we get to talk all about the entirely 100% brand new lineup of tripods in the Vortex line which you won’t want to miss!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

Looking for an optic for your AR? Maybe you already have one set up, but you’re curious about the other options and what makes them so special? Jimmy and Mark sat down with Reuben and Adam, our in-house AR junkies, to talk all about red dots, magnifiers, prism scopes, LPVO’s, offset red dots, etc. What’s so special about each one of these categories? Why would someone want to pick one over the other? Does one option reign supreme as the best overall way to go? Are any of them potentially just outdated at this point?? We also get the chance to talk about some brand new optics in our lineup with the SPARC Solar red dot and the Gen II Spitfire HD prism scopes. Tune in to find out! 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

What’s the deal with rangefinders? We did an episode a long while back on some really important tips, tricks and how-to’s when it comes to understanding how they’re used in the field and maximizing their performance (See Ep. 65), but this time we figured it would be best to go even deeper into understanding HOW they actually work. What we all take for granted as an easy “Point and shoot” tool to give us extremely valuable information for our accuracy down range involves some pretty incredible science on the back end. In order to explain it best, we grabbed Nick Vitalbo, who is literally a laser scientist with an impressive background and an equally impressive knowledge of how these things tick. He was a great help in the development of our new Fury HD 5000 AB and now is here to blow your mind with lasers, computers, programming, and so much 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

You’ve got the gun, you’ve got the rifle, now you need to get the best rings to hold them together… But what height? That’s the question we address here in this episode with Reuben Aleckson across the table from Jimmy and Mark. Full disclosure, if you’re looking for a definitive answer for your particular gun and scope combo, this isn’t going to be it, unfortunately. That said, we do go into all the reasons why that is such a difficult goal to achieve and all the aspects of your setup you should consider when making that final decision. Should you be shooting to get the scope as low to the bore as possible? Or perhaps cheek weld is the most important? How about clearing the objective bell or mag ring? All good questions! We hope this podcast can help.

Jimmy and Ryan Muckenhirn are joined by former special operations medic, James Davenport, and DJ Struntz of North American Rescue to talk all about James’ incredibly interesting life in the armed forces serving as a medic in some of the most hostile environments on the planet. We should note that if anyone out there gets lightheaded from listening to someone talk about traumatic injury and blood, you may not want to listen to this one while operating any heavy machinery! James tells us about why he entered the armed forces, why he chose the path of becoming a special operations medic and gives just a glimpse into the amount of training that was necessary to not only be an extremely effective combat medic, but one that was also a swiss army knife of other skillsets on the battlefield. Finally, we also got the very unique opportunity to listen to his story of not one, but two times encountering improvised explosives in the field, changing his life forever. It truly takes a warrior to have lived through all the experiences James has seen, so when given the opportunity to talk to him all about it, we jumped at the opportunity! 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

A cartridge screaming out of the barrel so fast it only takes six Mils of adjustment to get to a grand? That can only mean one thing - we’re talking about the Nosler family of cartridges, and to be even more specific, the 28 Nosler! These cartridges are well known for achieving some impressive velocities and being very flat shooting, but with a guy like Ryan Muckenhirn at the table for the discussion, surely there’s even more to learn about these cool rounds!

In a cartridge-era dominated by data tables filled with racy exterior ballistics, is there any room for modesty anymore? The fellas take 10 to pay mind to a fantastic-classic not soon forgotten in hunting camp: The light-recoiling, soft-spoken, and absolutely adequate for North American medium-game .257 Roberts.

The “cutest” cartridge in our holiday series, the 6.5 Grendel, is not to be overlooked because of its size. As our in-house cartridge expert Ryan Muckenhirn discusses with Jimmy and Mark, this little guy is as sweet-shooting as they come with an incredibly efficient design, super light recoil and excellent packaging in an AR platform.

After nearly being threatened by one particular listener (You know who you are) for our lack of a 10 Minute Talk around the Weatherby cartridges, Jimmy, Mark and Ryan Muckenhirn finally discuss these unmistakable, round-shouldered magnums, with the 300 Weatherby being our specific focus. We also learn why Ryan calls his 300 Weatherby “Evil Roy”!

Jimmy and Mark chat with cartridge man Ryan Muckenhirn about a series of cartridges with one of the most iconic silhouettes - the sharp-shouldered Ackley Improved cartridges. In this case, we speak most specifically to the .280 AI, being one of P.O. Ackley’s earliest mainstream wildcats, and its long journey to becoming an increasingly popular SAAMI spec’d round.

By overwhelming demand, we bring you a 10 Minute Talk on the ol’ standby – the .270 Winchester… How have we not done this one yet?? Jimmy and Mark chat with Mr. Ryan Muckenhirn all about what is certainly one of America’s most classic deer cartridges. We address not only where it came from and what made it so special to begin with, but also what it’s future might be as the round seems to be gaining in popularity with the long range community with the development of some new, high-stepping projectiles and loadings!

Why the hell would a person need to range 5000 yards or beyond anyway?...We’ll tell ya. Jimmy and Mark sit down with Paul Neess (AKA “The Neess”) and Ryan Muckenhirn to dissect this interesting question. In some ways the extreme ranging horsepower of an optic like our Fury HD 5000 is akin to when we practice shooting at long range – the fact the unit can hit 5000 well, makes closer work like 2500 yards a chip shot in regard to speed, pinpoint-precision and distance reading accuracy. A person can also route plan, estimate time of travel to get to a specific point and surprise themselves with how close or far a target/object really is. Things can get deceiving out there in regard to distance perception and a good rangefinder can give you the answers you need. Lest we forget, responsibly shooting targets at extreme long rage is damn fun and knowing the range is pivotal. All this, and as per usual, Paul says some other smart stuff…So Neess!

Jimmy and Mark are joined by Ryan Muckenhirn to discuss staying warm in the dead of the late season winter hunts. We discuss everything from clothing to shelter, understanding of course that everyone has their own personal preference for how they like to stay warm, but it never hurts to get a few new ideas now and then. Mark obviously brings up the incredible merits of the puffy jacket (Which we all agree on here), Ryan discusses his extremely well-thought-out cold weather shelter setup, and we toss out a few other tips and tricks based on personal experience for not freezing your you-know-what’s off out there!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

Incredibly, the crew has developed a load that not only functions but does so well enough to be worthy of taking on an antelope hunt in Wyoming. In true dirtbag fashion, Mark, Jimmy and our video man Cooper loaded up the Subaru for a turn and burn trip to a unit with limited public land in hopes to shoot at least one doe antelope each. As the title implies, the cartridge worked as intended, but to hear just how it all went down you’ll have to tune in! What do you guys want to see in the future with the 6.5 BC? How about other calibers? We’re hoping to continue to tune it for accuracy and really get it coming out like the rocket we think it can be in the future!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

In our last episode, Ryan Muckenhirn walked us through the process of getting into wildcatting your own cartridge and also unveiled our concept for the 6.5 BC. This is all fine and dandy on paper, but when the powder starts pouring, how are we going to go about making sure we loading something that works, is remotely effective, and, perhaps most importantly, safe!? In typical Vortex Nation Podcast form, we’re going into this with a good idea, but not a ton of experience, to give you a relatable look at how some regular enthusiasts might go about the process. Ryan tells us how he arrived at the baseline powder charge and seating depth we’ll be starting with, What our testing regimen for developing an initial load will look like, and of course, how we’ll avoid blowing ourselves up… In theory… 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

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 on Instagram @vortexnationpodcast

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 Vortex Nation™ podcast by asking us on Instagram @vortexnationpodcast