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 marvels, Kestrels are very cool, very interesting and very important for any long-range shooter.

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“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 that’s not free floated can even shoot well at all.

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 rifle a budget rifle? What are you getting? What are you missing out on? Will it do everything you want, or will you need to modify? Is it worth modifying a budget rifle, or at that point, do you simply upgrade? We cover all this and more in this cost-effective episode of the Vortex Nation Podcast.

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

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 answers.

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 understatement. We cover calling setups, thermal, night vision, firearms platforms, cartridges, tripod use and more in this night hunting extravaganza. Tune in to up your predator game and put more fur on the ground.

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 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 love of the wild turkey, getting surprised by ducks, Janis’s Latvian roots and more - this was a super fun and inciteful conversation with an old friend. Pull up a chair or put your car in drive and join us for the ride.

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 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 shooting off them as well! Best of all, we get to talk all about the entirely 100% brand new lineup of tripods in the Vortex line which you won’t want to miss!

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

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 other? Does one option reign supreme as the best overall way to go? Are any of them potentially just outdated at this point?? We also get the chance to talk about some brand new optics in our lineup with the SPARC Solar red dot and the Gen II Spitfire HD prism scopes. Tune in to 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

What’s the deal with rangefinders? We did an episode a long while back on some really important tips, tricks and how-to’s when it comes to understanding how they’re used in the field and maximizing their performance (See Ep. 65), but this time we figured it would be best to go even deeper into understanding HOW they actually work. What we all take for granted as an easy “Point and shoot” tool to give us extremely valuable information for our accuracy down range involves some pretty incredible science on the back end. In order to explain it best, we grabbed Nick Vitalbo, who is literally a laser scientist with an impressive background and an equally impressive knowledge of how these things tick. He was a great help in the development of our new Fury HD 5000 AB and now is here to blow your mind with lasers, computers, programming, and so much more. 

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