Vortex Nation Podcast

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 dres...

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 Chris 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.

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!

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,...

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...

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 hun...

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 backc...

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...

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 wo...

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...

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...

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-...

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”.

Steven 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 i...

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 marv...

“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...

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 r...

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 answe...

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 und...

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 lo...

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...

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 oth...