Vortex Nation Podcast

Don’t blame yourself, it could be your equipment. Jimmy, Mark and well, pretty much just our beloved Ryan Muckenhirn, talk you through the things you should check on your rifle and in what order to rule out inconsistencies in accuracy. We also cover how and why issues may manifest so you can spot them easier. We’ve all experienced accuracy ghosts – those things that seem unexplainable. You tear yo...

The title says it all – Does putting a suppressor on the end of your rifle make it inherently less accurate? More accurate? No different at all? Reuben and Adam, our in house “Can Bois” for all things NFA, discuss the many variables and details that go into not only how suppressors work in terms of making your shot quieter, but also how they influence the performance of your rifle. Notice we didn’...

Taping the muzzle of your rifle – common practice for some, extreme uncertainty for others. I mean how could sealing the business--end of your rifle not effect accuracy? It has to right? Or does it? Jimmy, Mark and our beloved Ryan “Mucky” Muckenhirn sit down to discuss this very topic. Listen up, it may just save your hunt!

I’ve you’ve been shooting for really any amount of time, chances are you’ve found yourself in the incredibly frustrating situation where you just can’t seem to hit a target no matter what you do. We’ve certainly been there, too! It really doesn’t matter whether it’s at 1,000+ yards or 100 yards, there are so many variables that go into every single shot, it can happen on any rifle or at any distan...

If you hunt, shoot or compete with an optics-equipped firearm, this could be the most important information you hear or that you can give to your friends to create the most reliable, accurate and repeatable setup possible. “Over-Torqued Rings” is a phrase we’ve mentioned in the past on the podcast and one you may have heard about on the internet from time to time. There’s all kinds of different ri...

What do you do when the tide of a war has changed and suddenly your complicated, pole-vault-pole-length, bolt action rifles are no longer a viable solution to close quarters combat or outfitting a massive fighting force? Get out your sheet metal, some random parts from the hardware store, a few car mufflers and as many hands as you can get to build stuff and start cranking out some submachine guns...

Much to Mark’s delight, Ryan Muckenhirn joins him and Jimmy to discuss the 300 WSM. (Sorry, Texans – there’s a lot of different pronunciations we throw around of “WSM” in this one). All of Jimmy’s joking to poke fun at Mark aside, the 300 WSM is one impressive cartridge and to quote Ryan himself, could be looked at as “The modern day gentleman’s 30-06”. That’s a big claim to make, but could it be...

The 4-legged critters we chase are often adorned with impressive headgear…..Not like those back-in-the day tooth-straightening torture devises. We’re talking regal, powerful, impressive, elegant headgear made of bone or hair. Some fall off annually to grow back bigger and can be picked up like Easter-egg-like forest treasures. Some have annuli, grow bigger every year and stay with the animal until...

Get the lead out,  keep it in….or a little bit of both. Lead in ammunition is a hot topic these days. Seems we can all agree we want to maintain the health and integrity of the environment. And we certainly don’t want to compromise our personal health, our family’s health or anybody who consumes wild game we bring to the table using ammunition containing lead. But what are the real risks? What doe...

If you’re familiar with all four official NATO cartridges, you had to know this one was coming as the grand finale to our NATO cartridges series. The incredible 50 BMG – perhaps sometimes looked at as though made of unicorn horns and leprechaun dust – Ryan Muckenhirn explains the origins of this old beast, what its reasonable capabilities actually are, its many applications, and why you should hav...

In this installment of the Vortex Nation Podcast, we sit down with Robbie Kroger and Braxton McCoy to talk about Braxton’s story and the powerful film Robby put together to help tell it. Serving our country, Braxton suffered extreme injuries and was told he may never walk again. He’s battled demons, worked his ass off to overcome challenges difficult to comprehend and put himself in a place most w...

In this episode, we go over 20 MOA bases (Or really any kind of canted base, for that matter - there are other options besides 20 MOA!) What do they actually do, how do they work, how do they actually affect your scope, why would anyone actually ever need one and what are some times when it could actually be the wrong move for your particular firearm and optic combo. Heck - your gun may already ha...

Ryan Muckenhirn joins Jimmy and Mark to discuss the 7.62x51 NATO, and inevitably, it’s civilian cousin the .308 in this episode from our NATO cartridge series. We talk about what it is, where it came from, what it was used for and out of which firearm platforms along with maybe the idea that there could be some conspiracy theories behind this cartridge? Ryan also compares this cartridge to his Dad...

Fitness and Mental fitness go hand-in-hand. They can build each other up – or tear each other down. In this episode, we dive into a great conversation with our neighbor to the north and first international guest, Greg McHale, getting into the nitty-gritty of those topics, extreme mountain hunting, professional adventure racing, poisonous plants and more. Greg has no quit and it shows in the storie...

Honestly, who doesn’t have a 5.56 or one of the new and fancy “.223 Wylde’s” in their arsenal? This cartridge has become one of if not the most ubiquitous cartridges in our world and we often take it for granted just being there and being what it is. Ryan Muckenhirn joins Jimmy and Mark to take it back to where it all began, what the cartridge has been intended for in its long use with NATO forces...

"Ultralight" is in the title of this one so you already know who our esteemed guest is going to be - Lightweight Dave! Dave joins us to talk about his latest ultralight rifle build that he plans to take to the mountain this fall during the unlimited sheep hunt. Ryan Muckenhirn joins as well as we discuss ways to make a rifle extremely light, tradeoffs one may need to face when going so light (i.e....

Perhaps you didn’t even know shotguns could be suppressed, or maybe you did and you’re wondering how it works or what shells can work with the can on the end? Reuben Aleckson and Dan Knuth (New guest) join us to talk about Dan’s Benelli M2 shotgun with a Silencerco Salvo on the end. He shoots with it all the time in almost every application and with a huge variety of ammunition types. Check it out...

With all these cartridge-based 10 minute talks, we decided it would be a good idea to talk about some of the more common and often forgotten like the remote you lost in your hand cartridges out there, most of those being NATO cartridges. So, the first in our “NATO Series” is the 9x19 – often just referred to as the 9mm. What is NATO, what’s the origin story of this cartridge, what makes the NATO v...

By now it’s no secret we love shotguns around here at Vortex, so we’re going to keep the shotgun conversations rolling with this choke-specific full-lengther with Ryan Muckenhirn. If you’ve ever wondered what types of shotgun chokes are available, what they all do, and when you would want to use one over another, this is the podcast for you. Everything from the rare “Spreader choke” to full-on tur...

NFA items in and of themselves can be complicated things to own, but how about what it’s like actually traveling with them out of state? Adam and Reuben join Jimmy and Mark once again for one last “Traveling with” 10 minute talk to discuss some of the considerations you should keep in mind when traveling with your NFA items. Disclaimer – we are not lawyers, nor are we always going to be perfect in...

Could the .22LR actually be considered “America’s cartridge”? Ryan Muckenhirn and new guest Seth Toy (From our engineering department) join Jimmy and Mark to talk all about rimfire cartridges, NRL precision .22 LR matches and a brand new scope from Vortex that might just so happen to have the perfect set of features for precision rimfire shooters. If you’ve always been the kind of person to take a...

We’re going to try and throw out a couple bonus episodes during this pandemic, so here’s a short one all about bore sighting your rifle. Whether that’s a bolt action rifle or an AR-15, this is an easy step that takes minimal time and zero ammo to help you get closer on your first shots out of a new rifle and optic setup. We also discuss what to do if you find yourself trying to sight in a rifle th...

Did you know you can fly with your firearm checked on the plane and even ammo, too? To some that may seem crazy, but to Reuben and Adam on this podcast, it’s what they’ve done all the time over their career in our dealer sales and training department and their own hunts/competitions they’ve traveled to. In this podcast we learn about approved containers and methods of packing your ammo, alternativ...

We have red dot sights, a big old Tom has a red head. Coincidence  - We think not. Today’s modern shotguns, turkey loads and choke tubes make mounting a red dot sight to your gobbler-getter more practical than ever – and just might make your rig more effective than ever! And it’s really not that hard! There’s more than one way to mount your dot, and we go through those methods. And if you have a d...

We’ve talked all about the vast expanse of shells available for your shotgun and how you can choose what works best for your application, but being that spring is upon us and folks are looking to socially distance themselves by going turkey hunting, we want to dedicate some time to discussing turkey loads specifically. How they work, what you should look for, the advances they’ve made over time, a...