Vortex Nation Podcast

Dave Hartman of the 3 Gun Show joins Jimmy, Mark, Reuben Aleckson and Adam Maxwell to talk 3 Gun gear. Borrowing the theme from our “Classifieds Hunter” (Episode 43) podcast, we set out with the mission to acquire every single thing a person could need to compete in a 3 Gun match, assuming they’re literally starting with nothing, for less than $1700. Yes, this includes all three firearms and every...

Our original intent was to have just a podcast about the sport of F-Class shooting, but when you get these brainiacs (Ian Klemm and Niles Richardson) talking about their obsession... er... "Hobby" you better believe it's going to turn into a full on long range shooting information assault to the brain. Fact of the matter is, in F-Class, the only thing that matters is long range accuracy - and when...

Eric Chesser (@gethushin), Ben Dettamanti (@ShedCrazy), Shawn Luchtel and Michael Hunsucker (@heartlandbowhunter) joined us in this East vs. West episode all about shed hunting. We break down what shed hunting actually is, why people do it, how they do it, what they do with the antlers, how it plays into their hunting strategy and many other little nuances of this off-season pastime from the persp...

Remi Warren - Part man, part beast and all balls. Mark, Jimmy, and Paul sit down with the one and only Remi Warren to chat about the life of guide. We cover sleep deprivation, hallucination, Remi’s first guiding job and how he got it, untimely heart attacks, making a-dollar-an-hour and loving it - and a heck of a lot more. If you’ve ever thought about becoming a guide, Remi breaks down the three w...

What happens when you get the crew together on a Friday afternoon with buffalo fried squirrel and an off the wall question to kick off some conversation? A whole bunch of rabbit trails about hunting and fishing. Jimmy, Mark, Ryan and Erik talk about the difference between baiting deer and fishing with bait, sturgeon spearing, smoke pole (muzzleloader) fishing, different styles of fishing, GMO corn...

Jimmy got the chance to sit down with DJ Struntz, former world traveler and surf photographer, and now Minister of Propaganda at North American Rescue - A business dedicated to developing and distributing life saving tools to our nation's warfighters as well as the every day citizen. While no one likes to live their lives in a constant state of fear for the worst, DJ explains some of the reasons h...

What started as a hobby to blow off some steam after his night shifts as a law enforcement officer turned into a full kydex holster business operation for Adam Weber in a fairly short period of time. Jimmy and Reuben sat down with Adam at SHOT show this year to talk about his story - From attempting to make his first holster using boat foam and an upside down bench grinder from a salvage store to...

In this episode we sit down with the cool dudes from 60th Parallel (@60thparallel - If you're not following them on IG right now, you're missing out!) to talk about hunting the last frontier for the first time. According to John and Casey there's two kinds of people out there considering their first hunt to Alaska - Those who are completely overwhelmed by which quarry to chase, where to go and how...

Ever wonder what things looked like at Vortex back in 2002 or maybe what some of the biggest hits and misses have been over the years when it comes to product? Mark and Jimmy join Paul Neess, frequent guest to the podcast and Vortex employee since darn near day one, and Joe Hamilton, new guest and one of the very first members of our sales team. We chat business and marketing from the perspective...

Buckle those brains up, folks. Jeff Sturgis is about to drop more knowledge on whitetail habitat in an hour and a half than you ever thought possible. In addition to understanding the premiere habitat that whitetails prefer, we’ll dive into daytime locations vs nocturnal areas, what these areas are comprised of and how you can create them on the property you hunt if they don’t already exist. Most...

Mark and Jimmy join Ryan Muckenhirn, Ian Klemm and Adam Maxwell for some good old fashioned American show and tell. This time to the tune of WW2(ish) era rifles. This era in firearms has to be one of the most exciting, as powers from across the world called on their most intelligent minds to create better weaponry in order to outgun their opponents. Firearms we discuss in this podcast include Ian'...

Mark, Jimmy and Erik join Brian Austin, a local fitness instructor and big partner of Train to Hunt, to talk functional fitness for backcountry western hunting along with some of the awesome and intense archery challenges they put on throughout the year to get hunters in shape to enjoy their time more in the wilderness during hunting season. Jimmy draws on some of his experience as a former track...

"As deer hunters, are we doing more harm than good in the way we talk about our sport?" If you've ever said this yourself or heard others say it and got to wondering - "What really made that a nice buck?" This is the podcast for you. Mark, Jimmy and Erik dive in on the tricky topics of trophy hunting, naming deer, scoring bucks, the context (or lack thereof) that we put on social media as hunters,...

There could be infinitely many more podcasts dedicated to reloading and its seemingly countless talking points, but we did our best to cram some more advanced reloading knowledge into this 201 level reloading podcast with Mark, Jimmy, Paul Ness and in-house reloading guru Scott Parks. Ever wonder how ambient temperature can effect your load and its accuracy? Can having the highest possible BC bull...

Our favorite hobbies tend to have two things in common - They're tremendously addictive and often times expensive. To many, a great way to ease this burden would be becoming sponsored by one or more companies in the industry or joining them as a brand ambassador to aid in some of the gear and financial aspects of our addiction - er - "Hobby". Mark, Jimmy, Adam Maxwell and Reuben Aleckson sit down...

Ball on a budget – The cost/perceived cost of gear, can be a barrier for those new to hunting. It doesn’t’ have to be! Jim, Mark, Erik and Ryan scour the web for 20 minutes and give 4 comprehensive, incredibly inexpensive, gear breakdowns to get you fully outfitted for a field foray you’ll never forget. We also cover gear buying tactics geared toward minimal impact on your budget and maximum impac...

How do you make a riflescope? The idea, optical design, mechanical design, machining, finishing, tolerancing, metrology, assembly, testing and ultimately producing an optic in a commercial setting - Have you ever wondered just what it takes to make this a reality? Sam Hamilton, chief engineer of a special military-focused division within Vortex joins Mark and Jimmy to recollect the entire process...

After battling some stomach issues, Jimmy, Mark and Ryan hammer out another HYR episode on late season Nebraska muzzleloader season. Commonly thought of as an “Old school” means of hunting big game, these guys brought out the technical gear from apparel to even the firearms themselves, rocking some very special, high precision, long range capable muzzleloaders. We also discuss buffalo, hunting in...

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 disp...

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 fede...

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...

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 t...

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?” – Pe...

"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 gu...

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...