Backbone Unlimited Podcast

In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, host Matt Hartsky breaks down exactly how to apply for Wyoming big game as a non-resident — one of the most misunderstood but opportunity-rich draw systems in the West. If you’ve ever logged onto the Wyoming Game and Fish website and felt confused about the difference between preference points, regular and special draws, or the 90/10 tag split, this episode walks you through every detail step by step.

Matt explains Wyoming’s hybrid draw system—how it blends preference points with random odds—and what that means for elk, mule deer, and antelope hunters looking to plan for the 2026 season. You’ll learn how to navigate the Regular vs. Special Draw options, when to apply for each species, how to manage your preference points, and how to avoid costly application mistakes that can sideline your season.

He also unpacks key strategies for building points wisely, understanding how point creep impacts your odds, and using Wyoming’s draw odds reports to identify realistic, attainable hunts rather than chasing point-heavy dream units. From understanding the difference between General and Limited Quota licenses to timing your applications correctly and managing your payment and refund details, this episode covers everything you need to apply with confidence.

Matt closes by outlining how to read trends, plan multi-species strategies, and use short-term opportunity hunts to stay active while building for long-term tags. Whether you’re brand new to applying in Wyoming or fine-tuning your strategy for 2026, this episode gives you the full blueprint for success in one of the West’s best non-resident systems.

In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, host Matt Hartsky breaks down the mindset and process that separates casual hunters from consistent ones — the off-season planning that starts long before next year’s tags are even available. Success in the mountains doesn’t begin on opening day; it starts months earlier with the decisions, habits, and preparation you build when everyone else is shutting down for the year.

Matt walks through his complete system for post-season reflection, goal setting, budgeting, and hunt planning, showing exactly how to evaluate your past season, identify what worked and what didn’t, and turn those lessons into actionable steps for next year. He explains how to set clear hunt and development goals, build a realistic time and financial plan, and strategically choose states and species that align with your long-term hunting strategy.

You’ll also learn how to research effectively — breaking down draw odds, harvest data, and terrain layers to find consistent opportunity instead of chasing luck. Matt shares how he uses e-scouting to study terrain and movement patterns before setting foot in the field, along with how to organize your year-round training and preparation phases so you hit the next season ready, not rusty.

This episode goes beyond hunting tactics — it’s about building the discipline, structure, and mindset that create lasting success. Whether you’re planning your first Western hunt or refining your multi-state strategy, you’ll come away with a repeatable blueprint for year-round readiness that keeps you one step ahead of the pack.

In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down one of the most misunderstood transitions in all of elk hunting—post-rut elk behavior. When October rolls around and the bugles fade, most hunters walk into the woods wondering where the elk went. The same basins that were loud with bulls a week earlier suddenly fall silent. But they didn’t disappear—they changed everything about how they move, feed, and survive.

Matt explains how bulls shift from high-energy rut mode to pure recovery. He dives deep into where they go after breeding season, how their priorities flip from dominance to survival, and why traditional September tactics fall flat in October. You’ll learn how to locate post-rut bedding zones, recognize subtle feeding patterns, and use terrain and thermals to your advantage when bulls go quiet.

This episode covers how hunting pressure, early snow, and dropping temperatures shape bull movement across the West. From mid-elevation timber to shaded north slopes, Matt breaks down how to identify recovery areas most hunters overlook—and how to adjust your glassing and stalking approach to match the elk’s new rhythm.

If you’ve ever hunted through October and thought the elk had vanished, this conversation will change how you see the season. It’s not about chasing bugles anymore—it’s about reading sign, trusting stillness, and anticipating recovery patterns before other hunters even realize what’s happening.

Learn how to adapt your mindset, slow your pace, and hunt the quiet season with precision. Because when everyone else thinks the mountain has gone silent, that’s when the smartest hunters start filling tags.

In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down one of the biggest reasons elk seem to “vanish” in October—hunting pressure. When the rut ends and bugles fade, most hunters think the elk have moved miles away. The truth is, they’re still there—but they’ve adapted. Pressure from hunters changes everything about how elk behave: where they feed, how they travel, when they move, and even where they rest. Learning to read those changes is what separates frustrated hunters from consistent ones.

Matt explains exactly how pressured elk react after weeks of calling, traffic, and scent in the woods. He details how bulls shift their bedding habits, compress their travel routes, and go silent to survive. You’ll learn how to identify refuge pockets other hunters overlook, recognize the signs of educated elk, and understand when it’s time to move to a new drainage entirely. He also covers how to hunt quietly and deliberately when the woods go silent—adjusting your pace, reading subtle sign, and mastering wind discipline to stay undetected.

This episode dives deep into October elk hunting tactics for both archery and rifle seasons—how to locate sanctuary zones, interpret pressure flow, and predict where elk will settle after being bumped. Matt shares insights on terrain, thermals, scent control, and mindset, helping you rebuild strategy when the mountains feel empty.

If you’ve ever found yourself in a quiet basin wondering where all the bulls went, this episode will change how you think about October hunting. Learn how to hunt the recovery phase, track the flow of pressure across the mountain, and stay one step ahead of every other hunter out there. Because when the noise dies down, the elk don’t disappear—they just move smarter.

In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down one of the most overlooked factors in successful mule deer hunting—weather. Every front that sweeps across the West changes everything about how deer behave. It affects where they feed, bed, travel, and rut. Whether you hunt in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, or Colorado, understanding how weather drives mule deer movement from October through November can completely change how you plan your hunts.

Matt explains how early cold snaps, shifting wind, and temperature drops cause does to move first—and how those movements trigger bucks to follow. He covers the patterns before, during, and after a storm, revealing how pressure changes and snow depth determine whether deer stay high or start migrating down. You’ll learn how to identify productive mid-elevation transition zones, how to time your glassing sessions around weather windows, and why post-storm recovery periods often offer the best visibility of the year.

From high-country bachelor groups in early October to full rut activity in November, Matt shows how to read the signals—frost, wind shifts, and barometric drops—that predict deer movement days before most hunters see it coming. He also breaks down how terrain, elevation, and sunlight exposure combine with weather to shape mule deer behavior across the West.

If you’ve ever shown up to a basin that felt empty overnight, this episode explains why—and how to stay one step ahead of every weather front that moves through the mountains. Learn to hunt the rhythm of the weather, not the forecast, and you’ll start finding deer where everyone else just left.

The late season is where the real divide between archery and rifle hunting begins.

In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down how everything changes from mid-October through November—the weather, the animal behavior, and your tactics. As the rut fades and survival takes over, elk and mule deer transition into new patterns that demand totally different approaches. Whether you’re carrying a bow or a rifle, adapting to this phase is the difference between hiking home empty and tagging out when most hunters have already quit.

Matt explains how post-rut elk behavior and the early mule deer rut create two very different challenges on the same mountain. He covers how to adjust your timing, terrain strategy, and decision-making depending on your weapon. Archery hunters will learn how to hunt tighter to cover, manage fickle thermals, and stay deadly quiet when animals are most alert. Rifle hunters will discover how to use reach, glassing strategy, and patience to capitalize on short daylight windows and unpredictable movement.

This episode also dives into judgment and ethics—how to know when to take the shot, when to wait, and how late-season conditions test your discipline more than any other time of year. Matt closes with the mental edge it takes to keep pushing when the mountains turn cold and quiet—because success now isn’t about luck, it’s about grit, strategy, and relentless persistence.

If you’re serious about improving your late season elk and mule deer hunting, this is the deep dive that separates the hunters who adapt from the ones who pack it in early.

In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, host Matt Hartsky breaks down one of the most overlooked but consistently productive parts of November hunting strategy—how to find and hunt transition zones for elk and mule deer. When the rut ends and the mountains go quiet, many hunters assume the animals have vanished. The truth is, they’ve just shifted into smaller, safer corridors that connect everything they need: food, cover, and movement routes.

Matt explains what transition zones really are, why they matter most in November, and how to locate and hunt them with precision. He covers how to identify these critical habitat intersections on your map, what sign to confirm on the ground, and how to interpret the subtle changes in elevation, slope aspect, and vegetation that mark late-season travel corridors.

You’ll learn how elk and deer tighten their patterns when energy conservation, pressure, and weather collide—and how to use that knowledge to intercept them instead of chasing ghosts. Matt also walks through real-world tactics for setting up on edges, reading thermals, and timing your hunts around predictable daily movement patterns.

From recognizing how storm fronts, pressure, and elevation changes push animals into new micro-habitats, to mastering the patience and discipline needed to hunt them effectively, this episode dives deep into the late-season mindset that separates successful hunters from the rest.

If you’ve ever struggled to find animals after the rut or wondered why “empty” country suddenly comes alive once you slow down and read the terrain differently, this is the episode that connects all the dots.

#ElkHunting #LateSeasonHunting

When elk seem unpredictable, the terrain is telling you exactly where they’re going—you just have to learn how to read it.

In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down one of the most overlooked tactics in elk hunting—how to find and hunt natural funnels that guide elk movement between feeding, bedding, and safety zones. Every herd on the mountain follows a rhythm shaped by food, security, and terrain. By understanding how ridges, saddles, benches, and drainages quietly funnel elk through specific corridors, you can start predicting movement instead of chasing it.

Matt explains how to identify these natural travel routes both on a map and in the field, how wind and timing affect elk use of each funnel, and how to set up effectively for both archery and rifle hunts. From early-morning transitions to late-season travel between habitats, you’ll learn how to intercept elk where terrain forces them to move—and how to read sign, pressure, and thermals to stay one step ahead.

This episode is packed with actionable tips for Western hunters who want to move from guesswork to precision. Whether you’re hunting high-country basins or timbered draws, learning to use natural funnels will transform how you scout, plan, and execute. Elk aren’t random—they’re predictable when you understand the mountain the way they do.

When the bugles fade and the mountains go quiet, most hunters call it a season. But that’s when the real challenge begins.

In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down how to spot and stalk lone bulls after the rut—when survival, not dominance, drives every move they make. You’ll learn how to read post-rut elk behavior, where bulls go to recover after weeks of chaos, and how to use glassing, wind, and terrain to move in without being detected.

Matt walks through every phase of this process in detail—from finding quiet mid-elevation sanctuaries and breaking down north-facing slopes, to planning stalks around shifting thermals and executing calm, precise final approaches. This is elk hunting stripped to its purest form—no calling, no chaos, just patience, discipline, and pure fieldcraft.

If you’ve ever wanted to master post-rut elk hunting or elevate your spot-and-stalk skills across the West, this episode delivers hard-earned insight built on decades of experience. Learn to hunt with intent, move with purpose, and finish with control. Because when the noise ends, the mountain belongs to those who slow down and think like a bull.

October separates hunters who chase elk from those who understand them.

In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down how to glass October bulls in transition zones—the overlooked pockets where post-rut elk recover, feed, and survive when the mountains go quiet. After the chaos of September fades, bulls retreat into small, protected sanctuaries that hold feed, water, shade, and safety. Learning how to find and glass these zones is what turns October from a frustrating lull into one of the most rewarding times of the season.

Matt explains how to identify productive mid-elevation transition areas, how post-rut bulls use them day to day, and how to adjust your glassing position, timing, and angles for maximum visibility without blowing your scent. You’ll learn how light, thermals, and terrain all interact to expose hidden elk—and why patience, not mileage, kills more bulls this month than any other factor.

This episode teaches you how to hunt October elk by reading the land instead of chasing noise. From understanding slope aspect and wind behavior to interpreting subtle movement through your glass, it’s a masterclass in post-rut precision.

If you’ve ever stared across empty drainages in October wondering where all the elk went, this one shows you the truth—they didn’t leave. You just need to learn how to see them.