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.

The new 6.8 Western is a Hot Topic (Jim’s Favorite Store) among cartridge connoisseurs. It’s so new, not a lot of folks have a ton of experience with it. On paper, it looks pretty darn good. Will it be the new 6.5? Is it everything the 270 WSM should have been. Will it knock critters down with authority at long range? Time will tell. Listen in to get our take on this new kid on the cartridge block.

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 this 10 minutes of cartridge fury, Ryan Muckenhirn shoots us straight on perhaps the most iconic straight wall cartridge -  the 45-70. This fantastic and storied cartridge is one of Ryan’s personal favorites for myriad reasons. From its military adoption, to reloading and hunting, the 45-70 is straight-up cool! Listen in to find out how cool!

Small-bore, big-bore, iguanas to impala, modern air rifles aren’t just a youthful introduction to hunting and the shooting sports. Great for that – yes – but a whole lot more as well. These things can pack a wallop, are extremely high tech, and a world unto themselves. Mark and Jim sit down with long-time friend, hunting, firearms and air rifle expert, Mike Schoby, from the Outdoor Sportsman Group, to dive headfirst into the wormhole that is, the Modern Air Rife.

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 Morel to spring than Turkeys and Sheds. There’s morels! These tasty mushrooms are mysterious, delectable and can be dang hard to find…..Which is what makes it so cool when you do find them. Jim and Mark sit down with resident fungal expert and avid forager, Ryan Muckenhirn, to get the scoop on how to scoop up some of these culinary treasures.

“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