Backbone Unlimited Podcast

A herd bull is bugling, answering every call, and sounds ready to fight—but he refuses to leave his cows. What do you do next?

In this episode, Matt Hartsky draws from 34 years of elk hunting and guiding experience to break down one of the toughest situations in September elk hunting. He covers herd bull behavior, calling strategy, positioning, and the mistakes that can send a bull and his cows in the opposite direction.

If you’re trying to improve your elk calling, understand rutting bull behavior, or create better opportunities while archery elk hunting on public land, this episode is for you.

📙 Elk Hunting E-Book Series (the complete elk hunting system — locating elk, reading pressure, wind and thermals, positioning, calling, and bowhunting execution) → https://backboneunlimited.com/collections/elk-hunting-series-e-books 📋 Elk Hunt Plan Audit — I'll personally review your specific unit, dates, access, terrain, pressure, wind strategy, and hunt approach before you head into the field → https://backboneunlimited.com/pages/elk-hunt-plan-audit

👥 Team Backbone — Weekly coaching calls, ongoing elk hunting guidance, the full member vault, and a community of serious western hunters → https://backboneunlimited.com/pages/membership

🦵 Backbone Unlimited Training Plans — Built specifically for the physical demands of mountain elk hunting: legs, lungs, durability, and the ability to handle hard miles under load → https://backboneunlimited.com/pages/training

🥩 Nutrition Plans — Get leaner before season, fuel long days in the mountains, and dial in your hunting-season performance → https://backboneunlimited.com/pages/nutrition

Do elk calf distress calls really work for calling mature bulls, or is this another elk-hunting tactic built around rare reactions and questionable claims?

In this episode, Matt Hartsky draws from 35 years of elk hunting and guiding experience to examine the theories behind calf distress calls. He looks at elk behavior, rut biology, herd dynamics, and what actually matters when you’re trying to create a high-percentage opportunity on public land.

If you’re interested in elk calling, archery elk hunting, public-land elk strategy, or understanding how bulls and cows respond during the rut, this episode will help you separate proven tactics from hunting stories.

📙 Elk Hunting E-Book Series (the complete elk hunting system — locating elk, reading pressure, wind and thermals, positioning, calling, and bowhunting execution) → https://backboneunlimited.com/collections/elk-hunting-series-e-books 📋 Elk Hunt Plan Audit — I'll personally review your specific unit, dates, access, terrain, pressure, wind strategy, and hunt approach before you head into the field → https://backboneunlimited.com/pages/elk-hunt-plan-audit

👥 Team Backbone — Weekly coaching calls, ongoing elk hunting guidance, the full member vault, and a community of serious western hunters → https://backboneunlimited.com/pages/membership

🦵 Backbone Unlimited Training Plans — Built specifically for the physical demands of mountain elk hunting: legs, lungs, durability, and the ability to handle hard miles under load → https://backboneunlimited.com/pages/training

🥩 Nutrition Plans — Get leaner before season, fuel long days in the mountains, and dial in your hunting-season performance → https://backboneunlimited.com/pages/nutrition

When a bull elk bugles, your first move usually shouldn’t be calling back. In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down the exact elk calling decision tree he uses to turn a bugling bull into a close-range encounter: read the bull, stay silent, close the distance, get inside the 80–120 yard bubble, assess whether he has cows, and only then decide what call to make. Learn when to use cow calls on a solo bull, when to bugle or rake at a herd bull, how to handle a bull that goes quiet, and why calling too early can stop an encounter before it starts. If you want to become a better elk caller and consistently close distance on bugling bulls, start with the sequence—not the call.

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.

Getting a bull elk inside 40 yards doesn’t finish the hunt—it starts the hardest part. In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down why bowhunters blow close-range elk encounters and how to execute when a bull is finally in range. Learn how to identify shot lanes before the bull arrives, control movement and noise, choose the right time to draw your bow, avoid holding at full draw too early, stay disciplined under adrenaline, and wait for a high-percentage shot opportunity. If you’re an archery elk hunter struggling to convert close encounters into filled tags, this episode will help you improve your shot execution when the pressure is highest.

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.

When bull elk stop bugling, most hunters assume the elk are gone. In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky explains how to find and hunt quiet bulls when elk aren’t talking, especially on pressured public land. Learn how to connect feeding areas, bedding cover, and the transition routes between them; read fresh tracks, droppings, beds, rubs, and grazing sign; identify saddles, pinch points, funnels, and security cover; and use glassing, wind, and patient observation to predict where a silent bull will move. If you’re hunting elk that have gone quiet because of pressure or changing conditions, this episode gives you a practical system for finding them without relying on bugles.

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.

Killing your first archery bull elk takes more than calling harder or getting lucky. In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down the Backbone System for archery elk hunting—from physical preparation and locating fresh elk sign to reading a bull’s behavior, closing distance, controlling the wind, choosing when to stay silent or call, and building a setup around a realistic bow range. Learn how to avoid the common mistakes that keep elk hunters stuck just outside shooting distance, make better decisions during a calling encounter, and create higher-percentage shot opportunities on public land. If your goal is to kill your first bull elk with a bow, this episode gives you a repeatable system for finding elk, getting inside the bubble, and executing when the opportunity comes.

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.

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.