Backbone Unlimited Podcast

Hunting pressure doesn’t always make bull elk harder to find—it can make their behavior more predictable. In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky explains how public land hunting pressure pushes mature bulls into specific security pockets, and how to use that movement to locate elk other hunters have given up on. Learn how to identify steep terrain, heavy cover, access barriers, escape routes, overlooked travel corridors, and pressure gaps while e-scouting, plus why bugling and aggressive calling can become less effective once bulls have been hunted. If you’re trying to find pressured elk on public land, this episode will help you use hunter pressure, terrain, wind, glassing, and disciplined movement to narrow down where mature bulls are hiding.
Ready to build a better elk hunting plan?
Explore the complete Elk Hunting E-book Series, join TEAM Backbone for ongoing guidance and accountability, book a personalized Elk Hunt Plan Audit, or prepare physically with Backbone Unlimited Training and Nutrition Plans.
Visit BackboneUnlimited.com to get started.
Train harder. Hunt smarter. Never settle.

Closing the distance on a bedded bull elk is one of the most technical stalks in bowhunting. In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down how to stalk a bedded elk without getting busted, including how to confirm the bull is truly bedded, locate unseen cows, read wind and thermals, choose an approach route, use terrain to stay hidden, and control your movement inside 150 yards. You’ll also learn what to do inside 60 yards, when to wait for the bull to stand, and how a single soft cow call can create a shot opportunity. If you hunt public land elk with a bow, this is a complete strategy for closing distance on a bedded bull and turning a difficult encounter into a high-percentage shot opportunity.
Ready to build a better elk hunting plan?
Explore the complete Elk Hunting E-book Series, join TEAM Backbone for ongoing guidance and accountability, book a personalized Elk Hunt Plan Audit, or prepare physically with Backbone Unlimited Training and Nutrition Plans.
Visit BackboneUnlimited.com to get started.
Train harder. Hunt smarter. Never settle.

September 22–30 can be one of the best elk hunting windows of the entire season. Herd bulls are breeding, protecting their cows and becoming increasingly vulnerable—but calling from long range still won’t pull them away from the herd.
Part four of this September elk hunting series covers how to close inside a herd bull’s bubble, hunt bedded elk and use trailing bugles, raking and controlled aggression to force a response. Learn how to hunt transition zones, pressured elk and productive midday setups during the final week of September.
Find the complete Elk Hunting E-book Series, TEAM Backbone, Hunt Plan Audits, Training Plans and Nutrition Plans at BackboneUnlimited.com.
Train harder, hunt smarter, never settle.

September 15–21 is peak rut, but more bugling doesn’t make every bull easier to kill. A herd bull, satellite bull and pressured bull each require a completely different approach. Call the wrong bull the wrong way and the best week of September can disappear fast.
Part three of this four-part September elk hunting series covers how to identify which bull you’re dealing with, use transition zones during the rut and choose the right calling strategy before making a sound. Learn when to cow call, when to challenge, when to intercept the herd and when to leave a pressured bull alone.
Find the complete Elk Hunting E-book Series, TEAM Backbone, Hunt Plan Audits, Training Plans and Nutrition Plans at BackboneUnlimited.com.
Train harder, hunt smarter, never settle.

September 8–14 is when elk behavior starts changing fast. Bulls begin separating, covering more ground, wallowing harder and making the first exploratory bugles of the season. The transition zones that produced last week may already be going cold.
Part two of this four-part September elk hunting series covers how to recognize the pre-rut shift, relocate changing elk patterns and adjust your calling without becoming aggressive too early. Learn when to stay quiet, when to use a soft cow call and when one location bugle can help you find a bull and close the distance.
Find the complete Elk Hunting E-book Series, TEAM Backbone, Hunt Plan Audits, Training Plans and Nutrition Plans at BackboneUnlimited.com.
Train harder, hunt smarter, never settle.

September 1–7 is a positioning hunt—not a rut hunt. Early-season bulls are still focused on feeding, bedding and moving through predictable transition zones. Aggressive bugling and long calling sequences can educate elk before the rut ever begins.
Part one of this four-part September elk hunting series covers how to identify active feed and bedding areas, locate the transition routes between them, build a wind-safe setup and use a soft cow call only when it helps finish the final yards.
Find the complete Elk Hunting E-book Series, TEAM Backbone, Hunt Plan Audits, Training Plans and Nutrition Plans at BackboneUnlimited.com.
Train harder, hunt smarter, never settle.

Stop hunting random elk sign and start finding where mature bull elk actually live. In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down how to identify the 200–400 acre core area a mature bull may use when food, water, bedding, and security cover converge in the right terrain. Learn how to e-scout potential bull elk core areas, read rubs, beds, tracks, and wallows as a system, locate feeding-to-bedding travel routes, identify security terrain, and avoid the hunting pressure that can push a bull out of his home pocket. If you hunt public land elk, this episode will help you turn elk sign into a repeatable plan for locating and hunting mature bulls.
Ready to build a better elk hunting plan?
Explore the complete Elk Hunting E-book Series, join TEAM Backbone for ongoing guidance and accountability, book a personalized Elk Hunt Plan Audit, or prepare physically with Backbone Unlimited Training and Nutrition Plans.
Visit BackboneUnlimited.com to get started.
Train harder. Hunt smarter. Never settle.

Wind ruins more elk stalks than bad shooting ever will. In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down how to manage wind and thermals while spot-and-stalk elk hunting, including how terrain affects airflow, why canyon and timber winds can fool you, how to plan a stalk route before you move, when thermal transitions become dangerous, how often to check your wind, and when backing out is the smartest move. If you hunt public-land elk, archery elk, or pressured Western elk, understanding these two wind systems can be the difference between closing inside bow range and watching the herd disappear.
For even more elk hunting strategy, terrain analysis, calling, elk behavior, wind and thermals, and complete hunting systems, check out the Backbone Unlimited Elk Hunting E-Book Series, schedule an Elk Hunt Plan Audit, or join TEAM Backbone at BACKBONEUNLIMITED.COM.

When should you bugle for elk, when should you cow call, and when is the best call no call at all? In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down a practical elk calling strategy for bowhunting pressured public-land bulls, including how to read solo bulls versus herd bulls, when to use cow calls, trailing bugles, challenge bugles and raking, why getting inside the 80–120 yard bubble can change a setup, how to use silence and movement to close distance, and why many elk calling failures are really positioning problems. If you want to improve your September elk calling, understand why bulls hang up, and make better decisions before you ever reach for a call, this episode gives you the framework.
For even more elk hunting strategy, terrain analysis, calling, elk behavior, wind and thermals, and complete hunting systems, check out the Backbone Unlimited Elk Hunting E-Book Series, schedule an Elk Hunt Plan Audit, or join TEAM Backbone at BACKBONEUNLIMITED.COM.

Elk hunting thermals are one of the most misunderstood parts of hunting western elk — and if your entire strategy is “thermals rise in the morning and fall in the evening,” you’re going to get busted.
In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down elk hunting thermals for beginners and explains what actually controls thermal air movement in the mountains. Thermals aren’t controlled by the clock. They’re driven by ground temperature, sunlight, shade, slope angle, vegetation, terrain features, cloud cover, and the prevailing weather wind.
You’ll learn why cool overnight ground creates downhill thermals, why those thermals don’t automatically reverse at daylight, and what must happen before warming terrain begins pushing air uphill. Matt also explains why the thermal transition period can create dangerous swirling conditions in both the morning and evening.
This episode also covers how prevailing wind interacts with thermals, why even a light directional wind can overpower weak thermal currents, and how crosswinds can create opportunities to approach elk from slightly above, below, or across the slope while keeping your scent away from them.
Matt shares real hunting examples showing how dramatically thermals can change across the same hillside. Sunlit terrain can produce rising air while a nearby shaded pocket produces falling air — sometimes within only a few yards. Cloud cover, timber, draws, slope severity, and vegetation can all influence what your scent is actually doing around elk.
You’ll also hear the story of three bachelor bulls approaching a cow call in late morning conditions. Even though the broader hillside was warm and the prevailing wind appeared favorable, the bulls entered a shaded timber finger roughly 40 yards below and immediately caught the falling thermal.
If you’re trying to understand how thermals work for elk hunting, how wind affects elk hunting setups, when thermals rise and fall, how to keep elk from winding you, or how to use milkweed and wind indicators effectively, this episode gives you a practical framework you can use in the field.
The biggest takeaway: thermals are temperature-driven, not time-driven. The mountain doesn’t care what your watch says. Learn to read the ground, sunlight, shade, terrain, vegetation, and actual air movement where you’re hunting.
For even more elk hunting strategy, terrain analysis, calling, elk behavior, wind and thermals, and complete hunting systems, check out the Backbone Unlimited Elk Hunting E-Book Series, schedule an Elk Hunt Plan Audit, or join TEAM Backbone at BACKBONEUNLIMITED.COM.
Train harder. Hunt smarter. Never settle.