Backbone Unlimited Podcast

HOW TO FIX "I CAN'T FIND ELK" (EVERYTIME!) | 🎙️ EP.197

If you can’t find elk, the answer isn’t always to hike farther, call louder, or abandon the unit. In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt breaks down a repeatable elk hunting system for locating public land elk by reading current sign, diagnosing pressure, narrowing the seasonal elevation band, and connecting feed, water, bedding, wind, thermals, and security cover into a real hunt plan. This is how you stop hunting old information and start finding elk right now.
Elk Hunting e-Books 👉 https://backboneunlimited.com/collections/elk-hunting-series-e-books

ELK HUNTING ALTITUDE - THE CONDITIONING SYSTEM THAT PREVENTS MOUNTAIN FAILURE | 🎙️ EP. 196

Elk Hunting e-Books 👉 https://backboneunlimited.com/collections/elk-hunting-series-e-books
 
In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down elk hunting altitude and the conditioning system that helps prevent mountain failure. Altitude does not usually beat hunters all at once. It starts with heavy legs, short breathing, poor sleep, low appetite, headaches, high heart rate, and bad decisions until the hunt turns into survival instead of execution. After 34 years of Western big game hunting and guiding, and more than 30 years as a strength, conditioning, and nutrition coach, Matt explains why general fitness is not enough for elk country and why altitude exposes weaknesses in aerobic base, uphill power, pack tolerance, downhill durability, breathing control, hydration, nutrition, and recovery. You’ll learn how to pace the first 48 hours, train for repeated mountain days, build loaded strength endurance, control your breathing after hard climbs, recover better at elevation, and prepare your body for the real demands of public land elk hunting. If you want to hunt harder, think clearer, avoid burning out by Day 3, and stay effective in steep elk country, this episode will help you train for the mountain instead of just surviving it.

MULE DEER HUNTING - THE GLASSING SYSTEM THAT USES LIGHT TO EXPOSE MULE DEER BUCKS | 🎙️ EP. 195

Mule Deer Hunting e-Books 👉 https://backboneunlimited.com/collections/mule-deer-hunting-e-book-series
 
In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down how to use light and shadow to your advantage when glassing mule deer. Mature mule deer bucks do not just use terrain for security. They use shade, contrast, sunlight, shadow lines, and broken light to disappear in country many hunters glass right past. After 34 years of Western big game hunting and guiding, Matt explains why hunters miss bucks by glassing too fast, staring only at bright open country, and failing to re-check high-probability bedding areas as light changes throughout the day. You’ll learn how to pick apart shadow pockets, focus on the edge where sunlight meets shade, use morning and midday light more effectively, recognize small visual clues like ear flicks, antler tips, backlines, and face patches, and avoid glare that destroys your ability to see detail. If you hunt public land mule deer and want to glass more effectively, find mature bucks in hidden bedding cover, understand how light affects visibility, and stop missing deer that were there the whole time, this episode will help you slow down, see more, and hunt smarter.

ELK HUNTING PREDATORS - THE WOLF EFFECT THAT CHANGES HOW TO HUNT BULLS ON PUBLIC LAND | 🎙️ EP. 194

Elk Hunting e-Books 👉 https://backboneunlimited.com/collections/elk-hunting-series-e-books
 
In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down the wolf effect on public land elk hunting and how predator pressure changes where mature bulls bed, move, and survive. This is not a political or emotional discussion. It is a practical elk behavior breakdown focused on how wolves and hunting pressure reshape elk security patterns, terrain use, bedding choices, movement windows, wind strategy, and vocal behavior. After 34 years of Western big game hunting and guiding, Matt explains why wolves do not always simply push elk out of an area, but often force elk to become more unpredictable, more terrain-focused, and more disciplined in how they use security cover. You’ll learn why mature bulls may shift away from old historical bedding areas, how broken terrain and escape routes become more valuable, why wind and thermals matter even more in predator country, and how hunters can adapt instead of blaming wolves for every hard hunt. If you hunt public land elk in wolf country and want to understand pressured bull behavior, predator-influenced elk movement, terrain security, and how to find elk where they feel safest now, this episode will help you hunt smarter and adapt faster.

MULE DEER HUNTING BENCHES - THE TERRAIN FEATURE THAT PUTS YOU ON MATURE BUCKS | 🎙️ EP. 193

Mule Deer Hunting e-Books 👉 https://backboneunlimited.com/collections/mule-deer-hunting-e-book-series
 
In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down why mule deer bucks love benches and how serious Western deer hunters can use this misunderstood terrain feature to find more mature bucks. A bench is not valuable just because it is flat ground on a mountain. It matters when it gives a buck security, wind advantage, visibility, shade, escape routes, energy conservation, efficient travel, and access to feed. After 34 years of Western big game hunting and guiding, Matt explains how mature mule deer use benches as bedding zones, travel routes, staging areas, and survival systems that help them detect danger before danger detects them. You’ll learn what separates a productive buck bench from a dead one, how wind and thermals affect bench bedding, why broken cover and shade matter, how benches change by season, and how to glass these subtle terrain features without blowing deer out. If you hunt public land mule deer and want to read terrain better, locate mature bucks more consistently, and stop wasting time on benches that only look good on a map, this episode will help you understand why old bucks choose the terrain they do.

ELK HUNTING SHOT PLACEMENT - THE QUARTERING SYSTEM THAT DROPS BULLS WITH CLEAN KILLS | 🎙️ EP. 192

Elk Hunting e-Books 👉 https://backboneunlimited.com/collections/elk-hunting-series-e-books
 
In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down elk hunting shot placement for bowhunters, with a focus on quartering-away shots and the real path an arrow needs to take through a bull. This is not about simply aiming at hair, the crease, or the outside of the rib cage. It is about understanding elk anatomy, arrow angles, exit points, and how to visualize the arrow’s full path through the vitals before you ever release. After 34 years of Western big game hunting and guiding, Matt explains why quartering-away shots can be deadly when the angle is right, why extreme quartering angles wound bulls, how to avoid the one-lung trap, and why the far-side front leg and exit point matter more than most bowhunters realize. You’ll learn how elevation, steep terrain, leg position, body angle, effective range, shot discipline, and 3D practice all play into ethical elk shot placement. If you bowhunt elk and want to make cleaner shots, recover more bulls, avoid common archery elk mistakes, and become more confident under pressure, this episode will help you think beyond pin placement and start judging the entire arrow path.

MULE DEER HUNTING - ARE YOU ACTUALLY READY TO KILL A HIGH COUNTRY BUCK? | 🎙️ EP. 191

Mule Deer Hunting e-Books 👉 https://backboneunlimited.com/collections/mule-deer-hunting-e-book-series
 
In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down the real question every Western deer hunter needs to ask: are you actually ready for high country mule deer hunting? This is not the romantic online version of alpine hunting. It is the honest version, where the mountain exposes your scouting, fitness, patience, gear system, glassing discipline, weather preparation, stalking decisions, and ability to recover a buck safely after the shot. After 34 years of Western big game hunting and guiding, Matt explains why high country mule deer hunting is not just about hiking high, buying good optics, or marking a few basins on a map. It is about building a real plan, glassing long enough to see mature bucks, understanding terrain and visibility, managing repeated mountain days, packing with purpose, adapting to fast-changing weather, slowing down during the stalk, and thinking through the pack out before you ever pull the trigger. If you hunt public land mule deer and want to become more prepared, disciplined, and consistent in the high country, this episode will help you honestly evaluate what the mountain demands.

ELK HUNTING WEATHER - THE BAROMETER DROP THAT GETS BULLS MOVING | 🎙️ EP. 190

Elk Hunting e-Books 👉 https://backboneunlimited.com/collections/elk-hunting-series-e-books
 
In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down one of the most misunderstood topics in elk hunting: weather, falling barometric pressure, and how mature bulls respond before storms. This is not about weather hype or believing that a storm magically makes elk easy to kill. It is about understanding how elk adjust movement, feeding windows, security, terrain use, bedding locations, wind advantage, and risk tolerance when pressure drops, temperatures cool, clouds build, wind shifts, rain moves in, or snow starts changing the mountain. After 34 years of Western big game hunting and guiding, Matt explains why some of the best elk movement can happen before the storm peaks, how mature bulls use protected terrain during bad weather, why unstable winds can destroy careless setups, and how disciplined hunters can use moisture, snow, cloud cover, and reduced pressure to their advantage. If you hunt public land elk and want to better understand elk weather patterns, barometer drops, storm fronts, pressured bull behavior, and how to position yourself before the movement window opens, this episode will help you hunt smarter when conditions change.

FIND 10X MORE BUCKS WITH THESE NEW MULE DEER HUNTING TACTICS | 🎙️ EP. 189

Mule Deer Hunting e-Books 👉 https://backboneunlimited.com/collections/mule-deer-hunting-e-book-series
 
In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down how to find way more mule deer bucks by changing the way you read country, glass terrain, and make decisions during the hunt. This is not about trying harder, hiking farther, or hoping one magic tactic changes everything. It is about building a better mule deer hunting system around visibility windows, glassing angles, shade, micro bedding pockets, feed quality, pressure, elevation bands, and disciplined decision-making. After 34 years of Western big game hunting and guiding, Matt explains why mature mule deer bucks are not random and why serious hunters need to stop just looking at good deer country and start understanding how bucks actually use terrain, security, light, cover, and pressure to stay alive. If you hunt public land mule deer and want to find more bucks, glass more effectively, avoid wasting time in low-probability country, and become a more consistent mule deer hunter, this episode will help you hunt smarter and make better decisions all day long.

THE DEATH OF EASY ELK HUNTING | 🎙️ EP. 188

Elk Hunting e-Books 👉 https://backboneunlimited.com/collections/elk-hunting-series-e-books
 
In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down the death of easy elk hunting and why the old way of finding bulls is disappearing fast. Elk hunting is not dead, and elk are not impossible to kill, but modern public land elk hunting has changed. More hunters have the same maps, apps, calls, podcasts, trailhead information, and expectations, which means elk are dealing with more pressure, more predictable human patterns, and less tolerance for sloppy hunting. After 34 years of Western big game hunting and guiding, Matt explains why obvious basins, easy trails, pretty meadows, popular wallows, and simple calling setups are becoming less reliable. This episode covers how elk adapt to pressure, why sign alone is not enough, how modern gear cannot replace good judgment, why calling still works when it is tied to position, and how a better system of locate, evaluate, position, execute, and adjust can help you hunt with more purpose. If you hunt public land elk and want to find more bulls, avoid common elk hunting mistakes, understand pressured elk behavior, and become a more consistent elk hunter, this episode will help you adapt to today’s elk hunting reality.