Episode 27
The Military Chose THIS Scope (ft. Vortex Optics)
State of the Second welcomes Mark from Vortex Optics, who walks hosts Kaylee and John through a career that started in a Washington State hunting and fishing family and ran through outdoor retail and a copywriting job at Cabela's headquarters in Sidney, Nebraska before he found Vortex. He has been with the company a little over 16 years, started in the days he calls "old Vortex" when a lot of people wore a lot of hats, and now leads the brand's podcast. He opens with rapid fire picks, including the Razor HD LHT 3-15x42 as his favorite product, a gen 3 Glock 19 for home defense, and a firm stance for Mils over MOA when he plans to dial.
The heart of the conversation is how to choose an optic and why Vortex stands behind what it sells. Mark explains the VIP warranty, which founders Dan and Margie Hamilton built on a customer-first philosophy: a lifetime, unconditional, no-fault warranty that repairs or replaces a product no matter its condition or how the damage happened. He shares warranty stories, from optics run over by trucks to a spotting scope that broke in half when it fell off a cliff and was duct-taped back together so the hunter could finish the hunt. On product selection, his advice is to start with the application, fit the choice to what you do 80% of the time, and resist the idea that more magnification is always better. He breaks down red dots, LPVOs, and higher-magnification scopes for AR use, and covers first versus second focal plane.
The episode also gets into hunting culture and recruitment, with Mark arguing that sharing wild game with people who have never hunted is one of the most powerful ways to bring the next generation in. He points to tools like onX Maps and public land access as ways for lapsed hunters to get back out, and notes that budget rifles and gear have gotten much better. He talks about Vortex's customer engagement, how repeated customer comments led to green dots in the Defender series, and the company's military work, including the David versus Goliath story behind the XM157 fire control. He closes on Vortex's steadfast support for the Second Amendment. The episode is brought to you by Patriot Mobile (code GOA), with this season's guest gift provided by Palmetto State Armory and AAC Ammo, and a plug for GOALS in Knoxville, Tennessee, August 9th and 10th.
Questions this episode answers
What is the Vortex VIP warranty, and what does it actually cover?
The VIP warranty is a lifetime, unconditional, no-fault warranty that repairs or replaces a Vortex product no matter its condition or how the damage happened. Founders Dan and Margie Hamilton built it on a customer-first philosophy, and Mark stresses that unlike warranties that look good on paper, Vortex means it.
How should you choose between a hunting optic and a tactical optic for an AR?
Start with the application and fit the optic to what you actually do about 80% of the time, rather than assuming more magnification is always better. Mark breaks AR options into red dots, LPVOs, and higher-magnification scopes, each suited to a different use.
When does a red dot, an LPVO, or a higher-magnification scope make the most sense?
Mark frames the choice around how you use the gun: red dots, LPVOs, and higher-magnification scopes each fit a different application on an AR. The guiding rule is to match the optic to what you do 80% of the time instead of chasing maximum magnification.
Should you pick first or second focal plane, and Mils or MOA?
Mark covers the first versus second focal plane decision as part of choosing a scope, and takes a firm stance for Mils over MOA when he plans to dial.
How can someone who stopped hunting years ago get back into it?
Mark points to tools like onX Maps and public land access as ways for lapsed hunters to get back out, and notes that budget rifles and gear have gotten much better, lowering the barrier to return.
What is the best way to get the next generation interested in hunting?
Mark argues that sharing wild game with people who have never hunted is one of the most powerful ways to bring the next generation in, calling wild game meat as natural, sustainable, and organic as it gets.
How does Vortex decide what new product to develop?
Mark explains that customer engagement drives development. Repeated customer comments are what led Vortex to add green dots to the Defender series.
What was it like for Vortex to win the military contract for the XM157?
Mark describes the XM157 fire control win as a David versus Goliath story, a milestone in Vortex's military work that also put the brand on TV.
Chapters
- 00:00 — Welcome and meeting Mark from Vortex
- 00:20 — Rapid fire: favorite product, Mils vs MOA, home defense
- 04:22 — Mark's journey from Washington to Cabela's to Vortex
- 07:10 — The bulletproof VIP warranty and why Vortex means it
- 08:28 — Wild warranty stories, from a house fire to a cliff
- 09:33 — Choosing an optic by application, not by max magnification
- 11:18 — Red dots, LPVOs, and AR optic selection
- 13:00 — Hunting culture and passing the baton to the next generation
- 16:05 — How a new Vortex product gets developed
- 17:53 — Customer engagement and the Defender green dots
- 22:05 — Sponsor break: Patriot Mobile
- 22:33 — From the soapbox: wild game and recruiting hunters
- 24:01 — Spicy optics: focal plane, Mils, and long range
- 26:48 — The military XM157 contract and Vortex on TV
- 31:03 — Second Amendment support, gift, and GOALS in Knoxville
About the guest
Mark works at Vortex Optics, where his primary focus is the company's podcast. He was born and raised in Washington State and went to school at WSU. He grew up in a hunting and fishing family. After college he worked outdoor retail jobs, including an Orvis store and a Seattle shop called Outdoor Emporium, before taking a copywriter position at Cabela's headquarters in Sidney, Nebraska, where he later moved into the marketing and brand management department doing media relations. He has been at Vortex for a little over 16 years, starting in roles spanning media planning, media buying, media relations, sponsorships, and copywriting. He lives in the suburbs of Wisconsin and describes his area of focus at Vortex as the hunting side.
Key quotes
"If you have the product, no matter its condition or how it happened, we will repair or replace it for the life of that product." — Mark
"there's a lot of great warranties out there on paper. And I'd say the difference was with ours as we mean it." — Mark
"look at what you're doing, how you're going to be using that optic, you know, 80% of the time and I'd cater your decision to that." — Mark
"wild game meat, it doesn't get more natural, sustainable and organic than that." — Mark
"It is not a, it's not a gray area for us or something to be compromised." — Mark
"Vortex is known for their optics, which is what they do, but you're also known for your bulletproof VIP warranty" — John
Transcript
Welcome to Gun Owners of America State of the second podcast.
Speaker A:I'm Kaylee.
Speaker B:And I'm John.
Speaker B:And today we're joined by Mark from Vortex Optics.
Speaker B:Mark, how are you today?
Speaker C:I'm doing great, guys.
Speaker C:Appreciate you having me on.
Speaker C:How you guys doing?
Speaker B:Oh, you know, this is a long day and we're excited to get you on and talk.
Speaker B:So first thing we have is our first segment which is rapid fire questions.
Speaker B:We're going to ask you five questions for you to answer for us.
Speaker B:So first question is, what is your favorite Vortex product?
Speaker C:Oh man, you're asking the tough ones first.
Speaker C:This is probably, this might be the most difficult thing I have to do today, but if you made me pick, you're gonna make me pick one.
Speaker C:So I'm gonna say it's the Razor HD LHT 3 to 15 by 42 rifle scope.
Speaker C:It is just an absolutely phenomenal, I'd say predominantly hunting rifle scope, but it's fully featured.
Speaker C:It's got, got top tier optics, it's bomb proof.
Speaker C:It has an incredibly clean but functional reticle.
Speaker C:It's got a quarter MOA center dot that illuminates.
Speaker C:And it's got a capped streamlined windage turret with a pop up and down locking elevation turret when you want to dial elevation for extended shots.
Speaker C:And it's just in a light compact package.
Speaker C:And I always say, man, if you want to shoot deer in the tree stand, you can do that.
Speaker C:And if you want to, you know, you know, if you need to extend your effective range out west, you can certainly done that, do that as well.
Speaker C:And I have done both and it's just, to me, it is just the perfect all around top tier hunting rifle scope.
Speaker B:Love it.
Speaker A:So if you could make one firearm movie more realistic, what's your pick?
Speaker C:Oh man.
Speaker C:Most.
Speaker C:That is.
Speaker C:Okay, you may have stumped.
Speaker C:I'm gonna have to come back to that one.
Speaker C:I'm gonna have to come back to that one.
Speaker B:All right, here's, here's the one that I'm gonna judge you the most on mill or moa.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:If I'm going, if, if I don't plan on dialing, it's irrelevant to me.
Speaker C:But if I do, I am a Mills guy now.
Speaker B:Oh, you have answered correctly, my friend.
Speaker B:We can be friends now.
Speaker C:It's just, it's just so simple.
Speaker B:Yes, thank you.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:What is your number one home defense gun?
Speaker C:You know, I keep it, speaking of simple, I keep it pretty simple and just I've got a gen 3 Glock 19 and that's that's kind of my.
Speaker C:My go to that I keep around and we have.
Speaker C:I have kids, you know, so it's easy to keep, you know, locked up, but also at the ready.
Speaker C:So that's my go to if I didn't have kids.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker C:You know, probably I might go with the old shotty, but this one is kind of.
Speaker C:That's what I'm running right now.
Speaker B:All right, this is going to be a tough one.
Speaker B:Would you rather give up your favorite optic or your favorite gun?
Speaker C:Okay, that's unfair.
Speaker C:But you need the gun.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:If I don't have the thing that goes bang, then I may not.
Speaker C:I don't need the optic.
Speaker C:I mean, unless we're talking, you know, binoculars or spotting scopes or things of that nature.
Speaker C:But at the end of the day, for what I like to do most, man, I need something that goes bang.
Speaker B:Well, that wraps up our rapid fire segment.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:We asked him the hard ones this time, man.
Speaker C:You guys sent me, you know, there were some softballs that you present.
Speaker C:Pineapple on pizza.
Speaker C:I was ready for that one.
Speaker C:The movie one, man, I'm at the.
Speaker C:I'm have to put some thought into that.
Speaker B:Well, they told us we couldn't ask the simple ones anymore.
Speaker B:We were going hard.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I will say I am now that I brought it up.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Pineapple on pizza.
Speaker C:I am for it.
Speaker C:And I like a pineapple on pizza.
Speaker C:Kind of a Canadian bacon type thing and with jalapenos there.
Speaker A:Jalapenos is the curveball that actually might make that combo work.
Speaker B:It works.
Speaker B:It says that sweet, spicy, that sweet.
Speaker A:Because I've not been pineapple on pizza.
Speaker A:I have never been on that team, but I think if you add some heat, I could get on board.
Speaker C:It kind of.
Speaker C:Yeah, I mean, it gets weird with it a little bit, but I think it's.
Speaker C:It's good.
Speaker B:I couldn't agree more.
Speaker B:All right, let's go ahead and dive into the meat and potatoes of this.
Speaker B:Mark, tell us about your journey.
Speaker B:How about Vortex and all that other stuff, man?
Speaker C:Yeah, happy to.
Speaker C:So born and raised, Washington State.
Speaker C:Went to school out there at wsu.
Speaker C:So, I mean, you know, I'm sure you guys are familiar, but if you want to talk about restrictive gun ownership, boy, that's.
Speaker C:That's a good state to look at and could use a lot of help.
Speaker C:So thank goodness for organizations like yours.
Speaker C:But born and raised out there, always, you know, grew up in a hunting and fishing family, and that's.
Speaker C:That's just been a Huge part of my life and who I am as a person.
Speaker C:Like I said, finished up school out there.
Speaker C:Had a couple outdoor retail jobs, one at an Orvis retail store and another really cool shop in downtown Seattle called Outdoor Emporium, which we had a hunting section, a marine section, a fishing section, things like that.
Speaker C:Had a buddy that had gone out to work for Cabela's at their HQ in Sydney, Nebraska.
Speaker C:He's like, hey, there's a copywriter position out here.
Speaker C:I think you'd be good for it.
Speaker C:I'd been doing some writing, and I'm like, dude, I'm never leaving the coast, man.
Speaker C:I like it out here, you know, like, as far as just from a landscape perspective, you know, I personally find it tough to beat.
Speaker C:And anyway, ended up applying for the job, got the job, took the job, was out there for.
Speaker C:For several years as a copywriter for a number of years.
Speaker C:Ended up in the marketing and brand management department doing media relations.
Speaker C:And then, man just was looking for something, you know, new, different.
Speaker C:I still loved Cabela's, and I love the people that I worked with out there.
Speaker C:And there was just a. Sydney was a really small town, so I call it second College.
Speaker C:Just a lot of transplants out there.
Speaker C:You know, everybody's the same age.
Speaker C:Everybody hunts and fishes.
Speaker C:There was never a lack of things to do.
Speaker C:Everybody lived five minutes away, but I was still.
Speaker C:I was looking for something a little bit different.
Speaker C:And man found Vortex and.
Speaker C:And the stars aligned with, you know, essentially at the time, a marketing manager position out here.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And did that, you know, everything from, you know, I mean, this is days of what I call old Vortex a little bit.
Speaker C:I've been.
Speaker C:Been at Vortex just a little bit over 16 years now.
Speaker C:So I was doing media planning, media buying, media relations, sponsorships, copywriting.
Speaker C:But it was also during a time when a lot of people wore a lot of hats.
Speaker C:And as we've grown over time, we've been able to specialize.
Speaker C:And so now my primary focus at Vortex is actually our podcast, so.
Speaker C:Which is just an incredibly fun project to work on, get to chat with amazing people about things that I'm interested in.
Speaker C:And, you know, it's like, oh, you want to pay me to talk about hunting and guns and cartridges?
Speaker C:It's like, all right, sign me up.
Speaker C:I'm in.
Speaker B:So Vortex is known for their optics, which is what they do, but you're also known for your bulletproof VIP warranty, and I have seen some of the things that have been returned for the warranty.
Speaker B:Can you kind of Dive into why you guys do that and why it is so bulletproof of a warranty.
Speaker C:So yeah, I mean, so Dan and Margie Hamilton, the founders of Vortex Optics, from its inception have had a philosophy of putting the customer first.
Speaker C:And that comes from the products that we make, how we treat our customers, how we treat our dealers, and backing our products.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So the Vortex VIP warranty is truly a lifetime unconventional.
Speaker C:It is unconventional, unconditional, no fault warranty.
Speaker C:If you have the product, no matter its condition or how it happened, we will repair or replace it for the life of that product.
Speaker C:And you know, there's a lot of, there's a lot of great warranties out there on paper.
Speaker C:And I'd say the difference was with ours as we mean it.
Speaker B:Yeah, I've seen some, let's see, there was one that was run over by a truck, one that was in a house fire.
Speaker B:I mean, I've seen some crazy things that you guys have replaced.
Speaker C:I mean there's, there, there's some wild stuff.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And yeah, the, the warranty department gets some, get some interesting stories for sure.
Speaker C:Yeah, those are a couple.
Speaker C:Not surprising.
Speaker C:Dogs can be hard on optics.
Speaker C:Apparently.
Speaker C:Binoculars must look like a chew toy.
Speaker C:We've had bears get in camp.
Speaker C:We've had, you know, unfortunately, negligent dischar charges where people have accidentally shot a hole through their spotting scope.
Speaker C:You know, you know, spotting scope tips over and falls off a cliff.
Speaker C:We had a really cool story one time where that happened and it actually, you know, broke the spotting scope in half.
Speaker C:But as any good outdoors person should do, they had duct tape with them and they were able to duct tape the housing together and finish out, finish out the hunt with the spotting scope and then get it to us later.
Speaker C:I don't, I don't think it was purged anymore, but it was still functional.
Speaker C:So they were able to finish out their hunt.
Speaker C:And actually I think they took a big buck at the end.
Speaker C:So it's pretty cool.
Speaker B:That, that is pretty awesome.
Speaker B:So let's kind of talk about scopes and when it comes to scopes, there's a ton of different options out there from Vortex.
Speaker B:You know, when you're looking at a vortex optic in the applications, you know, what, what do you have to consider depending on the applications you're working with?
Speaker C:I mean, when you're talking applications, I mean, that's the first question, right?
Speaker C:What am I going to be using this for?
Speaker C:I'd say a common mistake a lot of folks make is, is the more is better.
Speaker C:And depending on what you're doing more could be a detriment when it comes to magnification or weight or size.
Speaker C:And oftentimes when you go up in magnification, you, you do gain weight and size of the optic.
Speaker C:So I'd say, you know, look at what you're doing, how you're going to be using that optic, you know, 80% of the time and I'd cater your decision to that.
Speaker C:You know, if, if you're not going to be going through the process of getting your ballistic data and, and dialing elevation for long range shots, then maybe you don't need a scope with exposed locking turrets.
Speaker C:If you are going to be doing that, then you do need those things.
Speaker C:And then I'd say the one nice thing about Vortex is we, we have a deep lineup of optics.
Speaker C:You know, we have a very strong, good, better, best.
Speaker C:We're not, we're not just entry point, we're not just top end.
Speaker C:We have products that tiers throughout the range.
Speaker C:So a person can say hey, I need, I need an optic with this feature set and, and my budget is here and you can, you can line those things up and find a spot and find a home for you.
Speaker C:And, and our goal is always if you spend a dollar, Vortex by by gol.
Speaker C:We want it to be.
Speaker C:You want, we want, you get the best optic for your money, that's for sure.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I want to kind of dive in a little bit more on this.
Speaker B:You know, are you looking when you're looking at like, let's just say in ar, is there a difference between getting a hunting optic and a tactical optic?
Speaker B:And which one would we go with?
Speaker B:Looking more red dot lpo.
Speaker B:It all depends on the situation.
Speaker B:So kind of want to pick your brain on that.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:On, on the AR side of the house.
Speaker C:I mean like you said, a red dot, man, it's, it's tough to beat a red dot.
Speaker C:I'd say particularly in a lot of situations where you might be using that, that firearm, whether it's plinking home defense, close quarters type work, you're going to be able to do a lot of things with a red dot.
Speaker C:You know, if you need to have some magnification, if you're, you know, maybe it's target ID type stuff, you know, magnification is going to assist with that.
Speaker C:Maybe you need to extend your range a little bit and add some precision and lpvo.
Speaker C:I mean that is to me that's the do all on an ar.
Speaker C:If, if you told me I could put one optic on an ar it's probably going to be an lpvo.
Speaker C:If you're using that AR for coyote hunting or something like that, maybe you do want something in, in that, you know, 3 to 15, 5 to 25 type magnification range or if you're doing long range precision or DMR type stuff.
Speaker C:Again that's where that magnification and some of that other feature set comes in of, of of exposed turrets for dialing.
Speaker C:So again it just comes down, there's so many ways to, to use that platform and it just depends on, on the person and how they're doing it hopefully.
Speaker C:I don't know if that answered your question.
Speaker B:Yeah, answered my question perfectly.
Speaker A:So I want to kind of jump into the culture and I know that you said that you came from the hunting side and that was something that you grew up with.
Speaker A:I think when we look at the work of GOA second amendment hunters and just in general, the firearms community and the hunting community, we kind of all see a tipping point right where we really need to be encouraging the next generation and passing the baton so that we have more generational hunters and people who may have not hunted for a long time coming back into the fold.
Speaker A:What are some things that you would want people to know that maybe went hunting as a kid and they've taken a 10, 15, 20 year lull from hunting that are looking at getting back in, into the hunting tradition.
Speaker C:Man.
Speaker C:As far as getting back in, I would say, you know, look back at your life, at some of your fondest memories and I bet you'd be hard pressed to say that, that a lot of those weren't spent outdoors and hunting.
Speaker C:I'd say it's still out there as far as opportunities and I'd say the equipment has only gotten better.
Speaker C:Access is always a big issue.
Speaker C:But now we have digital mapping software like ONX Maps.
Speaker C:I mean having, having a place to go is, is, you know, a huge barrier of entry.
Speaker C:You know, lots of places, lots of private land is getting leased up and there might be less opportunity there but, but we are so blessed to have a lot of public land.
Speaker C:And it may not seem like it in your area until you pull up, you know, something like ONX Maps and you're like, oh, there's a piece of public here, there's a piece of public here.
Speaker C:Gosh, there's a piece of public right by my house.
Speaker C:I mean I live in, in the suburbs of Wisconsin, but I actually have a piece of public that I have hunted.
Speaker C:It's five minutes from my house.
Speaker C:So that that's what, that's what I'd say.
Speaker C:And then, you know, the equipment, you know, if you're like, you know, I like to hunt, but I got a little bit cold, man.
Speaker C:You know, the, the outdoor apparel these days, the backpacks, the lights, everything has gotten so much better.
Speaker C:Technology, so much better.
Speaker C:Optics are better, firearms are better.
Speaker C:If, if you sold your guns and, and you're like, oh, do I really want to spend, you know, that kind of money on a new rifle?
Speaker C:The, the, the level of quality and precision that you can get with a quotation mark budget rifle these days is astounding.
Speaker C:So I would encourage anybody that has it, either has an interest in it and has.
Speaker C:Or has done it before or, or has had an interest in it and hasn't done it.
Speaker C:Man, the opportunity is out there from a, from a sustenance perspective, you know, that you're not going to get more organic than, than, you know, a game that you've hunted yourself.
Speaker C:And the level of satisfaction that you'll get when you prepare that meal for yourself or your family and your friends is unmatched.
Speaker B:I couldn't have said any better.
Speaker B:What's it like developing a new product at Vortex?
Speaker B:I know, like, recently you've come out with the Defender hd, all those pistol dots, you know, when it comes to stuff like, what are we looking at?
Speaker B:Are you looking more like, okay, is there an application in the tactical space?
Speaker B:Are we looking at more pistol dots?
Speaker B:Are we looking at to innovate in some of that space and see kind of like what, what the thought process is when it comes through that stuff?
Speaker C:I think, I think it's assessing demand, right?
Speaker C:You want to look at the market and say, you know, what are people asking for?
Speaker C:Analyze our own product assortment and say, what gaps do we have?
Speaker C:Where can we improve?
Speaker C:Is there a hole?
Speaker C:And then, you know, additionally, we have so many passionate users of optics here at Vortex.
Speaker C:That's a huge resource that we can pull from too, because, you know, these folks are using them every day.
Speaker C:Like, you know, my area of focus, I would say, is on the hunting side, right?
Speaker C:You know, all hunting, Western hunting, Midwest hunting.
Speaker C:But we have people here at Vortex that are three gun shooters, prs shooters.
Speaker C:We have former military and law enforcement that are still passionate shooters in varying arenas.
Speaker C:We have F class shooters.
Speaker C:So we have a lot of resources that we can pull from here to say, like, oh, we don't have this, but we should have this.
Speaker C:We have, you know, and then they have the product development team too, which, I mean, they're just a crack squad and you know, as far as optical design and, and mechanical design and electronic design.
Speaker C:So we just have a lot of resources that we can pull from here and then also, you know, talking with our customers.
Speaker C:We're interacting with our customers on a daily basis in a variety of ways.
Speaker C:And so it's just kind of pulling from all these different things and saying, okay, where's the spot that we want to focus on?
Speaker C:What's going to have the biggest impact and go there.
Speaker C:And it's generally a multi year process, honestly, from a product start to, once it hits the marketplace.
Speaker A:One of the things that I think is really awesome about the community that Vortex has built is your customer engagement is pretty much the best in the business in so many ways.
Speaker A:We know you've got your podcast.
Speaker A:It seems like you guys are probably one of the most engaged companies on social media.
Speaker A:How has your customers driven your next idea or rallied behind a project that you weren't necessarily expecting them to go in that direction?
Speaker C:Man, I'd say it's just, it's accumulative.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Like you take all these hundreds and thousands of interactions that we have over time and you might identify a trend over time.
Speaker C:I mean, I'd say case in point with the defender.
Speaker C:The defender dots.
Speaker C:You know, we call them red dots, right.
Speaker C:But throughout time, you know, you get this, you know, little blip, you know, oh, I sure wish you had a green dot.
Speaker C:And then, you know, a few weeks later, you know, another wish, you sure wish you had a green dot.
Speaker C:Well, now we have green dots in that series.
Speaker C:And, and so that, you know, I could, I'd say that's like a singular example of like overtime.
Speaker C:It's like, yeah, okay, we've seen that there's enough demand through these interactions and, and we're thankful that the customers take the time out of their day to make that comment.
Speaker C:Like, hey, I, I would really like to see this.
Speaker C:You were talking about just interacting in general and, and we want to talk to our customers, whether that's the podcast or over the phone or via social media.
Speaker C:Our social media team is just absolutely amazing.
Speaker C:And whatever platform a person is most comfortable communicating on, that's where we want to meet them and we want to hear from them and we want to help them out.
Speaker C:Oftentimes it's not even optics related.
Speaker C:It could be, you know, I've got this, you know, AR and I'm experiencing this issue.
Speaker C:Can you help me troubleshoot it?
Speaker C:You know, we, we troubleshoot all sorts of things around Here.
Speaker A:So I think that that's really indicative of your all's culture.
Speaker A:You know, you guys are hunters, you're shooters, you're competition shooters like you were talking about.
Speaker A:And so you definitely feel from the consumer side the passion that you have for the product first and foremost.
Speaker A:And I think it makes we the consumers excited about what you guys are doing and your all's openness to, to hear comments and engage about your products and then you stand behind them like we were talking about with your warranty.
Speaker A:And I think it's really cool, you know, the story that you shared where he finished the hunt because so often when we are putting your, whether it's a hunting trip or your life behind a product, if something goes wrong, like you've got to pick it up and see, still do what you got to do with it.
Speaker A:And so those stories I think are encouraging for people who maybe haven't pulled the trigger yet on purchasing a product to know, hey, we're behind this 100% for sure.
Speaker C:I mean you gotta think too like, and we want our, we want, we want to back our products, we want to have our customers enjoy their experience with those products, products to its fullest potential.
Speaker C:But you have to think where we use these products and how we use these products is oftentimes not a very friendly environment.
Speaker C:You know, I mean we're.
Speaker C:You could be in, like I said, you could be in the mountains.
Speaker C:It could be a more you know, quotation mark tactical situation.
Speaker C:But these are pretty, you know, can get pretty gnarly and.
Speaker C:But our goal is for the life of that product for that person to know that we will stand behind it no matter what.
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Speaker B:I think we are at the halfway point.
Speaker B:So let's go ahead and go to Kaylee's favorite topic.
Speaker B:Kaylee, what we got here?
Speaker A:Yeah, so from the soapbox is where we kind of dive into the spicier side of things.
Speaker A:I know we've talked a lot about hunting, but where do you see maybe the next generation coming up and what do you think their expectations are for hunting and how do we get more people interested in the hunting tradition?
Speaker C:You know, I I think a big one for that is exposing people to eating wild game.
Speaker C:I think if you are a hunter, sharing that bounty with people who haven't hunted before is an incredibly eye opening experience.
Speaker C:I think, you know, there's people like to throw words around these days of, you know, oh, natural, natural, sustainable, organic.
Speaker C:Well, like we were talking about earlier, wild game meat, it doesn't get more natural, sustainable and organic than that.
Speaker C:And I think having somebody come over for a nice dinner that's prepared well, that the game was taken care of well and giving them a very positive experience can create an, an absolute shift in their mindset and, and, and they may maybe, maybe didn't even ever consider hunting before, but something like that can, can, can make that shift.
Speaker B:All right, Kaylee got to ask her hunting question.
Speaker B:I'm gonna go optics and get spicy with some optic questions.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:First or second vocal plane?
Speaker C:Oh, you can't get, you can't keep hitting me with these questions where it depends.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:If I am, if I am using a optic that I intend to use for long range shooting.
Speaker C:Okay, excuse me, I'm gonna, I'm gonna start with hunting.
Speaker C:That's why I like that 3 to 15 with a second focal plane reticle because I use that optic sometimes in extremely close quarter scenarios and I also use it for longer range scenarios as well.
Speaker C:If I'm going to be target shooting, just long range shooting and I'm going to be above that top end of 15, a hundred percent.
Speaker C:First focal plane.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:First focal plane.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:It just, it really does depend for me, but I do like having my optic, having the ability to have like my optic on the low end of its magnification range in close quarters like dark timber scenarios and potentially maybe not have to remember to engage my illumination to be able to see that reticle and have it stand off in those types of situations.
Speaker C:But no question long range shooting, wind calls, things like that first focal plane is going to shine there.
Speaker B:I'm with him on that first focal plane for long range and mill is the only way to go for long range.
Speaker B:And if you say MOA and second focal plane, you're just plain wrong and I will fight you.
Speaker C:The way I look at it with the top end of let's say 15, if I do want to shoot off my reticle or maybe I want to measure something with my reticle, I can be comfortable at that range Cranking it to 15 to know that my sub tensions are accurate now.
Speaker C:But I'm not too zoomed in at the same time.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I learned all my long range shooting on a mill scope, and then I went and had an MOA scope the last time I went out and I hated it, and I wanted to throw the whole thing out.
Speaker B:It's just when you learn Mills, it's just so much easier to do the calculations and get everything going.
Speaker C:I've never been accused of being a math magician, and Mills just seems easier for me in that regard.
Speaker B:Well, it was even easier when we had the Strylock app, but we don't have that anymore.
Speaker B:I really wanted to ask you, I guess this isn't really spicy, but I wanted to kind of touch into it, you guys.
Speaker B:I believe I'm not mistaken.
Speaker B:You guys got the contract for the military, for the new scope.
Speaker B:You know, what was that like from.
Speaker B:From a company perspective to get such a large contract?
Speaker A:It was.
Speaker C:It was a really big deal.
Speaker C:I mean, we did a podcast on it with Alexander, who.
Speaker C:Who is here at Vortex in.
Speaker C:And he's part of the team that.
Speaker C:That has been working on that project and is still working on that project.
Speaker C:Truly a David versus Goliath story.
Speaker C:I mean, the.
Speaker C:The team who.
Speaker C:Who came up with the XM157, truly so talented, so smart, they came up with technologies and features that just didn't exist before, and now they do.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And the scope itself, you know, our goal with that was there was a need for it.
Speaker C:You know, we are passionate about military and law enforcement here.
Speaker C:These guys saw a path to where they thought that they could fulfill that need and the ability for Vortex to make our war fighters more effective and more lethal and also safer.
Speaker C:I mean, that's another one of our core values, is supporting the military.
Speaker C:So having that project coming to fruition, being awarded that agreement to be able to provide the fire control was just, you know, incredibly.
Speaker C:It was.
Speaker C:It was a big deal for us, and I think it'll be a big deal for the military as well.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:The other question I wanted to ask you is I was watching TV with my wife the other week, and Vortex got called out by name on a major TV network for a show.
Speaker B:You know, what's it like to see something like that happen?
Speaker B:If you.
Speaker B:If you haven't seen it, I can tell you where it was afterwards.
Speaker B:But what's it like to see your name called out either on major TV networks or in movies or anything like that?
Speaker C:It's wild, man.
Speaker C:And it's just.
Speaker C:It's a huge compliment.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And, you know, it kind of fuels.
Speaker C:Fuels your fire around here.
Speaker C:I remember a time when I got to Vortex where, you know, I went to.
Speaker C:It would have been, I guess it would been the NRA show.
Speaker C:When it like two months after I got here, you know, we, Paul Nice and I drove down to Arizona in a van with a, a trade show booth that Sam, one of the, the, the owners, slash founders of Vortex had built and you know, and for, for several days in a row we answered the question, who's Vortex?
Speaker C:What do you do?
Speaker C:And to see it go from that to essentially, at least in the optics space being somewhat of a household name is, it's, it's incredible.
Speaker C:I feel like, you know, everybody just had their head down, grinding and, and all of a sudden you look up and you're like, whoa.
Speaker C:We've actually come a pretty long way.
Speaker C:This is pretty cool.
Speaker B:Now I have a spicy follow up question.
Speaker B:What is your reaction when you see your product put on backwards?
Speaker A:Uh,.
Speaker C:We want it, we want to be able to help those people.
Speaker C:Uh, it's an honest mistake.
Speaker C:I, you know what, I'd say it happens more than you think.
Speaker C:And I'd say the LPVO is definitely the one that, that happens to the most.
Speaker C:I think just the, the shape of that optic, for some folks, it's not as intuitive to at least maybe, maybe not mounting wise, but looking through wise, oftentimes those will get picked up.
Speaker C:You're like, oh yeah, you know, person will be like, oh yeah, that looks really clear.
Speaker C:And I'm like, well if you like it that way, you're gonna love it when you turn it around.
Speaker B:I saw there was another show that I was watching and it had your brand name on it, but the optic was, the LPVO was flipped backwards and I kind of couldn't help but laugh.
Speaker B:Like you have an armorer.
Speaker B:They should know what they're doing.
Speaker C:Well, we're here to help those people too.
Speaker C:And they can, if they want some assistance, just give us a shout out.
Speaker A:So we're getting the wrap up sign, so I wanted to first thank you for your time for coming here.
Speaker A:But I also wanted to make sure that you saw the gift for our guest, Palmetto State Armory.
Speaker A:And AAC Ammo has provided this season's gift for our guests.
Speaker A:So you'll be getting a nice thank you headed your way and thank you to them for providing that for this season.
Speaker C:Gosh, thank you so much and I appreciate you guys having me on.
Speaker C:It's always fun getting to chat with folks who are like minded and in the space and you know, we appreciate everything you guys are doing.
Speaker C:I think we share the same outlook on the Second Amendment.
Speaker C:You know, the Vortex is steadfast in its support.
Speaker C:It is.
Speaker C:It is not a, it's not a gray area for us or something to be compromised.
Speaker C:And I know you guys feel the same way.
Speaker C:So we appreciate that.
Speaker B:Yeah, and we appreciate all the support you guys have given us over the years and donations for giveaways and things like that.
Speaker B:Guys, make sure to, like, share and subscribe.
Speaker B:Hit the little bell for notification.
Speaker B:Leave a five star review on all podcasting apps.
Speaker B:Make sure to go to gun owners.orggoals and attend the Gun Owners Advocacy Leadership Summit, GOA's convention year number two, in Knoxville, Tennessee, August 9th and 10th.
Speaker B:We hope to see you in Knoxville and thank you for watching and have a great rest of your day.
