Backbone Unlimited Podcast

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.

Hunting pressure can completely change elk behavior — and if you hunt pressured public-land elk the same way you hunt unpressured elk, you're making an already difficult hunt even harder. In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down 21 ways hunting pressure changes elk behavior and explains what those changes mean for the way you locate, approach, call, and hunt elk. We cover why pressured bulls become less vocal, reduce daylight movement, move into bedding and security cover earlier, leave later in the evening, abandon obvious trails and open terrain, compress into smaller security pockets, and become increasingly difficult to locate and pattern.

You'll also learn how hunting pressure affects elk calling behavior, bedding areas, feeding patterns, travel routes, wind use, water use, elevation, and private-land boundaries. Matt explains why pressured bulls may answer once and go silent, circle downwind, hang up outside bow range, or approach without making another sound; why getting closer before calling becomes even more important; and why realistic calling context matters when you're dealing with educated elk. You'll also hear why pressure doesn't automatically push elk higher — it pushes them toward security, whether that's higher, lower, deeper, steeper, thicker, or simply somewhere hunters aren't consistently willing to go.

If you're trying to figure out where elk go when hunting pressure increases, how to hunt quiet elk, how to find pressured elk on public land, how hunting pressure affects elk movement, how to hunt elk near roads and trails, or how to locate elk after opening day, this episode gives you a practical framework for understanding what those elk are doing and how your hunting strategy needs to change.

The takeaway is simple: elk can absolutely live close to roads, trails, and people — but heavily pressured elk often become a very different animal to hunt. Sometimes the better opportunity is found in the steep, nasty, difficult-to-access security terrain where fewer hunters are willing to pay the price to reach them.

Want help building a better plan for your hunt? Visit BackboneUnlimited.com for Matt’s Elk Hunt Plan Audit, Elk Hunting E-Book Series, TEAM Backbone, elk calls, and mountain hunting training and nutrition programs.

Train harder. Hunt smarter. Never settle.

Finding elk on pressured public land isn’t about hiking farther than everyone else. It’s about understanding where hunting pressure comes from, how elk respond to it, and where security terrain gives them an advantage over hunters.

In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down a repeatable system for consistently finding elk in heavily hunted public-land country. Instead of trying to escape pressure completely, you’ll learn how to use roads, trails, access points, terrain, and predictable hunter behavior to eliminate low-percentage country and identify the security pockets where elk are most likely to concentrate.

If you want help putting together a complete strategy for your upcoming hunt, visit BACKBONEUNLIMITED.COM to learn about Matt’s Elk Hunt Plan Audits, join TEAM Backbone, or grab the 328-page Elk Hunting E-Book Series covering elk behavior, terrain, pressure, calling, positioning, and execution.

If you have an elk hunting question you’d like Matt to cover in a future episode, send it in or leave it in the comments on the Backbone Unlimited YouTube channel.

Train harder. Hunt smarter. Never settle.

Fresh Elk Sign But No Elk? You’re Probably Making This Mistake

You’re finding fresh elk tracks, droppings, beds, and rubs—but you still can’t actually find the elk. What are you missing?

In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down one of the most frustrating situations in elk hunting: finding fresh elk sign without finding elk. The problem usually isn’t a lack of elk. It’s failing to connect that sign with elk behavior, terrain, direction of travel, and time of day.

Matt explains how to determine whether you’re looking at sign from a nighttime feeding area, a morning transition route, or an active bedding area—and why treating all fresh elk sign the same can put you behind the elk or cause you to bump them out of the country.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why fresh elk sign doesn’t necessarily mean elk are still nearby

How to use elk tracks and direction of travel to determine where the herd went

How feeding areas, transition zones, saddles, and bedding cover fit together

Why time of day completely changes how you should interpret elk sign

When to follow fresh tracks—and when you should stop

Why pushing into thick bedding timber can destroy an otherwise great opportunity

How to turn morning elk sign into a midday, evening, or next-morning setup

How Matt uses the combination of sign + location + time of day to build his next move instead of simply hunting wherever sign is concentrated

If you’re hunting western elk, public-land elk, pressured elk, or silent elk, this episode will help you stop chasing yesterday’s information and start using elk sign to predict where elk should be next.

Want help building a more specific strategy for your hunt?

Visit BackboneUnlimited.com to check out Matt’s Elk Hunt Plan Audit, the complete Elk Hunting E-Book Series, Team Backbone membership, and hunting-specific training and nutrition programs.

If you have an elk hunting question you’d like answered in an upcoming episode, send it in.

Train harder. Hunt smarter. Never settle.

Please note, this episode for how I locate and break down a transition zone to hunt silent bulls is a very visual piece of content you may want to watch here: https://youtu.be/dH5AdCe0xFI

What do you do when the elk simply aren’t talking?

Whether it’s early September, hunting pressure, predators, heat, drought, smoke, or just one of those frustrating days when the mountains are completely silent, you still need a way to consistently put yourself around elk.

In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down his #1 strategy for hunting silent elk: transition zones.

Matt explains how to identify the country between feeding and bedding areas and then layer in trails, saddles, benches, terrain barriers, security cover, wind, and fresh sign to determine where elk are most likely to travel. He also explains why transition zones can be especially effective in the morning, how he approaches them differently in the evening, and when he’ll move closer to a bedded bull.

You'll learn:

What an elk transition zone actually is

How to identify likely feeding and bedding areas

How trails, saddles, benches, and terrain help narrow the zone

Why hunting ahead of silent elk beats chasing them

How Matt sets up for morning movement

Why some transition zones produce elk well into midday

How pressure and security influence elk movement

When soft calling can help—and when you may not need to call at all

How Matt approaches a vocal bull near a bedding area

If silent elk have you wondering what to do next, this episode gives you a repeatable framework for narrowing down the mountain and putting yourself where elk are already likely to travel.

Want help building a better plan for your hunt? Visit BackboneUnlimited.com for Matt’s Elk Hunt Plan Audit, Elk Hunting E-Book Series, TEAM Backbone, elk calls, and mountain hunting training and nutrition programs.

Train harder. Hunt smarter. Never settle.