Tiny calibers are fast and fun. These pint-size projectiles push the limits of possible. Punching paper to popping prairie dogs, tiny cartridges abound, filling boutique-like niches sure to make any enthusiast add a new rifle to their collection. Jimmy Hamilton and Mark Boardman tap into the all-knowing Ryan Muckenhirn and, frequent guest, Seth Toy to get the lowdown on these cuties of the cartridge world.

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One of the biggest things that separates “Great” precision shooters from “Pretty good” ones is how they make corrections and how they maximize their margin for error when dealing with wind. Nick Laufenberg joins Jimmy to discuss utilizing your full target as a means for getting a hit on steel, measuring that target in MOA/MRAD, thinking of wind in terms of MOA/MRAD, and trusting your reticle when misses happen to make a sound correction that will get you on target for the second shot.

Long Range on a budget – Can it be done? Hell-yeah it can. Jim and Mark sit down with in-house long-range shooters Nick Laufenberg and Scott Parks to discuss options and how to effectively engage in the ever increasing in popularity activity of long-range shooting. We also debut the Venom 5-25x56 riflescope – a budget-friendly, optically-sound and feature-rich riflescope, sure to make any current or future long-range shooter smile. After personally running this scope through its paces prior to launch, Jim and Mark both agree this scope performs like a champ – and you know how mark likes to live that “pinky-up” life, so that’s saying something.

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

One of the oldest .30-06-based wildcats, the .35 Whelen had enjoyed a brief period of commercial successes, and is still holding on in some circles as an understated champion for medium-sized game. Has this old powerhouse been displaced by modern magnums, or, does modesty prevail? Tune in to learn more!

So you want a suppressor, that’s a no brainer, but which one? What are all the differences between the suppressors we see on the market today and what’s even significant about those differences? All good questions – Mark and Jimmy had the same ones and a whole lot more for Adam and Reuben, our in-house NFA-item nerds. We dive into the three main types of suppressors, rifle, pistol and rimfire, and some of the things you should be aware of when purchasing your very own. Which suppressor do you think Mark should get? We finally got him back into AR ownership, let’s get a suppressor in his personal arsenal, too!

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

BDC (Ballistic Drop Compensating) Reticles are fast, simple and extremely popular. The hashmarks are based on a general ballistics curve most popular big game calibers follow pretty close out to 600 yards. But what if you want to know exactly where the hashmarks line up for your rifle and the load you’re pushing through it?  What if you have a cartridge that falls outside of the “general ballistics curve”? Good questions! Jim and Mark sit down with Ryan Muckenhirn to chat through “Truing your BDC Reticle” for optimum accuracy!

Getin' Ticky With It! Jim and Mark burrow in deep with E.R. Doc. and tick expert, Charlie Pearce, for an in-depth discussion on everything ticks. Creepy, yes! Fascinating, yes! An ever-increasing problem with serious health ramifications, yes!  What is a tick and ticks of interest. How do ticks work? What is their life cycle? Why are ticks so effective as a vector for disease? What is questing? Why is a tick bite painless? What is Lyme disease? Growth of Lyme disease in the US. Spirochetes, what are they? Symptoms of Lyme. Treatments for Lyme. Short and long-term effects of Lyme. We cover all this and more!! If you go outside, this is one you need to listen to!

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

Crimped cases may seem like a pain-in-the-brass, but are actually pretty darn simple to prep for reloading. In this podcast we cover what a crimped case is, how to identify it, and how to get rid of the crimp.If watching on YouTube, you can see us do it. If you’re a “brass rat”, but cull every crimper you come by, you may want to reconsider.

A day in the life of an optical engineer - arguably nothing more exciting!!! OK, maybe we are optics geeks around here. Join Jim, Mark, Christian, and Todd from Vortex as they take look deep into the world of optical engineers and the science behind it all. From blowing smoke through lasers, to reflection, refraction, destructive interference, moving mirrors, modulating a time domain spectrum, how computers changed the game and all sorts of other nerdy stuff, this one is a mind bender for the ages.

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 secret to long-range shooting? The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind. Literally. Much of the challenge, variability, frustration and skill regarding long-range shooting relates to wind. Gravity is a constant, wind is not. Ironically, the “F-ing wind”, as we like to call it is probably one of main the things that keeps us coming back to the range to get better at shooting. A viscous cycle really. Tune in to this long-winded 10-min talk for tips and tricks on how you can make better wind calls.