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by Backbone Unlimited
Backbone Unlimited is a western hunting podcast for public-land hunters who want to stop guessing and build a better system for finding elk, mule deer and black bears, beating pressure, reading sign, understanding wind and thermals, and making cleaner decisions in the mountains. Hosted by Matt Hartsky, Backbone Unlimited combines 34+ years of western big game hunting experience with decades of strength, conditioning, and nutrition coaching to help hunters prepare smarter and hunt more effectively. Episodes cover elk hunting strategy, mule deer hunting, bear hunting, public land tactics, archery elk hunting, rifle hunting, e-scouting, scouting, glassing, calling, bedding areas, feed, water, transition zones, mountain fitness, hunt planning, field decision-making, meat care, gear, pack-outs, and the mindset it takes to keep improving season after season. If you’re serious about becoming a more capable western hunter, Backbone Unlimited is built to help you train harder, hunt smarter, and never settle.
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- Yesterday13 min
I'M 49 NOW - HERE'S MY BIGGEST ELK HUNTING MISTAKES | EP. 217
At 49 years old, after 34 years of hunting and guiding elk across the West, I’ve made enough mistakes to know which ones cost hunters the most. This episode isn’t about the bulls I’ve killed, the hunts that went according to plan, or the decisions that made me look like I had everything figured out. It’s an honest breakdown of the elk hunting mistakes that cost me opportunities, unfilled tags, wounded confidence, and—in one case—an animal I never recovered. Experience doesn’t automatically make you a better elk hunter. Honest experience does. In this episode, I break down seven hard-earned elk hunting lessons that changed how I call, move, set up, train, manage the wind, and make decisions under pressure. You’ll learn: • Why blaming weather, hunting pressure, moon phase, or other hunters prevents real improvement • How overcalling can stop a committed bull and destroy an otherwise perfect setup • Why wind direction must control every move you make in elk country • How hunting comfortable, familiar terrain can keep you away from pressured elk • Why shot discipline and ethical bowhunting standards can never change in the moment • When leaving good elk country is actually the wrong decision • Why traditional gym fitness doesn’t always prepare you for a demanding backcountry elk hunt I also share the mistake that still haunts me most: taking a shot I knew wasn’t right. The angle was poor. The bull was moving. The distance was beyond what I’d prepared for. I released anyway, wounded the bull, and never recovered him. That decision permanently changed the standards I carry into the mountains. Elk hunting success isn’t only about finding elk or becoming a better caller. It’s about controlling your emotions when a bull is close, respecting the wind, trusting good country, maintaining your shooting standards, and preparing your body for multiple hard days in steep terrain. These lessons apply whether you’re preparing for your first public-land elk hunt or you’ve spent decades chasing bulls with a bow. You’re going to make mistakes in elk country. The question is whether you’ll accept responsibility, study what happened, and make sure the same mistake doesn’t cost you again. Thirty-four years. Seven mistakes. These are the ones that cost me the most. I hope they cost you less. Listen now for a direct, honest discussion about elk calling mistakes, wind management, public-land hunting pressure, ethical shot selection, backcountry hunting fitness, staying in productive elk country, and becoming a more consistent elk hunter. Explore the Backbone Unlimited elk hunting e-book series, training plans, nutrition programs, and personalized Elk Hunt Plan Audits at BackboneUnlimited.com.
- 2 days ago14 min
MOST ELK HUNTERS ONLY PLAN FOR 2 DAYS - HERES THE 10 DAY SYSTEM | EP. 216
Most elk hunters have a plan for opening morning. Very few have a clear elk hunting strategy for days 4, 6, 8, or 10. That’s why so many promising 10-day elk hunts start falling apart halfway through the trip. Fatigue builds, the elk aren’t cooperating, confidence drops, and hunters begin making emotional decisions they should’ve made before ever reaching the trailhead. In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down a complete day-by-day plan for a 10-day elk hunt. Instead of treating the entire hunt like one long push, you’ll learn how to divide it into four distinct phases—each with its own objective, decision rules, opportunities, and potential mistakes. You’ll learn: • Why days 1 and 2 should focus on locating elk and building information • How to hunt days 3 through 5 without abandoning good elk country too soon • When fresh elk sign means you should stay—and when cold sign means it’s time to move • Why days 6 through 8 are the critical grind phase of a backcountry elk hunt • How to make a strategic move while there’s still enough time to capitalize on it • Why days 9 and 10 must remain complete hunting days • How to plan your morning, midday, and evening hunting windows • When midday recovery is smart—and when staying close to bedded elk creates opportunity • How to prepare for fatigue, changing conditions, pressure, and declining confidence • Why your elk pack-out plan must be solved before a bull is on the ground Whether you’re preparing for an archery elk hunt, rifle elk hunt, guided hunt, or a do-it-yourself public-land elk hunt, this episode will help you build a plan that extends beyond opening weekend. Matt draws from 34 years of western elk hunting and guiding experience, along with 30 years as a professional strength, conditioning, and nutrition coach, to explain why hunters who perform for the full duration of a difficult hunt are rarely relying on motivation alone. They’ve built a system that tells them what to do when the excitement fades, the body gets tired, and the easy decisions disappear. A 10-day elk hunt gives you enough time to locate elk, learn their patterns, adjust your strategy, recover from mistakes, and still fill your tag—but only when every day has a purpose. If you want my eyes on your actual elk hunt plan before you head into the field — your maps, access, terrain, pressure points, wind and thermals, and overall strategy — book an Elk Hunt Plan Audit and I'll help you build the right approach for whichever phase of September you're hunting: https://backboneunlimited.com/pages/elk-hunt-plan-audit If you want to study the complete elk hunting system on your own, start with my Elk Hunting Series E-Books: https://backboneunlimited.com/collections/elk-hunting-series-e-books For daily guidance, accountability, and a community of serious western hunters working toward the same goals, join Team Backbone: https://backboneunlimited.com/pages/membership If the missing piece is your body — legs, lungs, and the ability to handle mountain miles under a heavy pack across all of September — check out my Backbone Unlimited Training Plans: https://backboneunlimited.com/pages/training For pre-season body composition, in-field fueling, and in-season performance nutrition, check out my Nutrition Plans: https://backboneunlimited.com/pages/nutrition
- 5 days ago15 min
HOW TO HUNT ELK WHEN YOU CAN'T GLASS - TIMBER ELK HUNTING | EP. 215
How do you find and kill elk when glassing isn’t an option? In thick timber elk country, visibility may be limited to 50 yards or less. There are no open basins to glass, no distant ridgelines to scan, and no opportunity to locate elk from miles away. Your binoculars become less important, and tracks, beds, rubs, wallows, sound, scent, terrain, and wind become your primary tools. In this episode, I break down a complete system for hunting elk in dark timber. You’ll learn how to use topographic maps to identify north-facing benches, hidden water, finger drainages, bedding areas, and overlooked terrain before entering the woods. I also explain how to read fresh elk sign, distinguish active areas from old sign, and recognize when you’ve entered a bull’s core living area. We’ll cover the slow still-hunting pace required in dense timber, how rain and wind can help conceal your movement, and why stopping to listen and smell the air can locate elk you’ll never see from a distance. You’ll also learn how calling strategy changes at close range, why soft cow calls and raking can outperform aggressive bugling, when to stop calling, and how to manage unstable wind and thermals inside heavy cover. Thick timber doesn’t make elk impossible to hunt. It requires a different system—one built around terrain, sign, patience, sound, scent, close-range positioning, and disciplined movement. Read the map. Trust the sign. Slow down. Control the wind. Hunt every step like an elk could appear at 40 yards—because it probably can. Explore the Elk Hunting E-Book Series, TEAM Backbone, Elk Hunt Plan Audits, mountain hunting training programs, and nutrition plans at BackboneUnlimited.com. Train harder. Hunt smarter. Never settle.
- 6 days ago13 min
THE REAL REASON SOLO ELK HUNTERS FAIL - IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK | EP. 214
Day three of a solo elk hunt can break a hunter. Your body hurts, camp is cold, the elk aren’t cooperating, and there’s nobody beside you to rebuild your confidence or push you out of the tent the next morning. In this episode, I break down why most solo elk hunts don’t fail because of calling, physical conditioning, or a bad setup. They fail because the accountability, perspective, and mental structure normally provided by a hunting partner are gone—and the hunter never built a system to replace them. You’ll learn how to pre-decide your behavior before the hunt, reset after a bad day, measure success through daily process goals, and keep one difficult stretch from ending your entire season. I also cover solo elk packout planning, realistic kill-distance limits, meat-care logistics, and the tactical adjustments required when you’re both the caller and the shooter. Solo elk hunting demands more than toughness. It requires a plan for the moments when motivation disappears, the weather turns, your confidence drops, and quitting starts to feel reasonable. Build your accountability structure. Run on process instead of outcomes. Solve the packout before the shot. Adjust your calling strategy for one hunter. Do that, and the solo hunt stops being the thing that breaks you on day three. It becomes the experience that shows you exactly what you’re made of. Explore the Elk Hunting E-Book Series, TEAM Backbone, Elk Hunt Plan Audits, mountain hunting training programs, and nutrition plans at BackboneUnlimited.com. Train harder. Hunt smarter. Never settle.
- 1 weeks ago18 min
HOW TO TRAIN FOR HIGH ALTITUDE ELK HUNTING WHEN YOU LIVE AT SEA LEVEL | EP. 213
Living at low elevation doesn’t mean you have to spend the first several days of your elk hunt struggling to breathe, fighting heavy legs, and waiting for your body to catch up. In this episode, I break down how to prepare for hunting elk between 8,000 and 11,000 feet—even if you never train in the mountains. We’ll cover the specific aerobic conditioning, ruck training, incline work, downhill strength, breathing practice, and arrival strategy that help low-elevation hunters perform better at altitude. You’ll learn why general fitness isn’t always enough, why last-minute training usually fails, how to build a stronger cardiovascular engine, how to prepare for long climbs under pack weight, and what to do during the first 48 hours after arriving at elevation. The goal isn’t to survive until day three. It’s to arrive ready to hunt on day one. Learn more about Backbone Unlimited training plans, nutrition plans, elk hunting e-books, TEAM Backbone, and Elk Hunt Plan Audits at BackboneUnlimited.com. Train harder. Hunt smarter. Never settle.
- 1 weeks ago17 min
THE WORST 8 ELK CALLING MISTAKES - ARE YOU GUILTY? | EP. 212
You had a bull responding. He was closing the distance. Then he slowed down, stopped, circled, went silent, or disappeared completely. Most elk hunters assume the call failed. In many cases, the sound wasn’t the problem. The decisions surrounding the call were. In this episode of the Backbone Unlimited Podcast, Matt Hartsky breaks down eight elk calling mistakes that consistently cause bulls to hang up, circle downwind, shut down, or vanish before entering bow range. These mistakes happen before the first call, during the conversation, and inside the final 60 to 80 yards—when one bad decision can destroy an otherwise perfect elk encounter. After 34 years of hunting and guiding Western big game, Matt explains why successful elk calling requires much more than producing realistic bugles and cow calls. Calling is only one part of a complete system involving wind, thermals, terrain, positioning, timing, hunting pressure, rut phase, patience, and shot execution. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why calling too much gives a bull enough information to hang up Why you should check the wind and choose your setup before answering a bull How poor terrain positioning allows elk to visually expose your setup Why continued calling can stop a bull that was already committed When soft cow calls may outperform bugles on pressured public-land elk How elk calling strategy should change throughout the September rut What to do when a bull hangs up between 60 and 80 yards Why complete stillness becomes critical during the final moments of an archery elk encounter Matt also explains how mature bulls use their eyes, ears, and nose to verify a calling setup. When a bull can see where the sound originated, precisely identify your location, or circle into your scent stream, the encounter can end without the hunter ever understanding what went wrong. You’ll discover how to use timbered points, benches, ridgelines, terrain breaks, wind direction, and controlled sightlines to force a bull to close the distance before he can confirm the source of the call. You’ll also learn why silence often creates more urgency and curiosity than another bugle or cow call. This episode is for bowhunters who are tired of almost closing encounters. Whether you hunt pressured public land, early-season bulls, peak-rut herd bulls, or quiet elk in heavy timber, these elk calling strategies will help you make better decisions when the pressure is highest. The call gets his attention. Your setup, discipline, patience, and execution are what fill the tag. Build the setup first. Read the bull second. Call third. Study the complete elk hunting system at BackboneUnlimited.com. Explore the Elk Hunting E-Book Series, TEAM Backbone membership, Elk Hunt Plan Audits, mountain hunting training programs, and nutrition plans built for Western hunters. Train harder. Hunt smarter. Never settle.
- 1 weeks ago15 min
HOW TO USE TERRAIN LIKE AN ELK HUNTING WEAPON - MOST HUNTERS FIGHT IT | EP. 211
Two elk hunters can hunt the same drainage, face the same pressure, and chase the same bulls—yet experience completely different results. One spends the week reacting, bumping elk, burning setups, and wondering why bulls keep hanging up. The other understands how to use terrain, wind, thermals, sightlines, funnels, sound, and elevation to make the mountain work in his favor. In this episode of the Backbone Unlimited Podcast, Matt Hartsky explains how to use terrain as a weapon when hunting public-land elk. Terrain isn’t just the ground beneath your boots. It controls how your scent moves, where elk travel, how bulls approach a call, what they can see, where sound carries, and whether you can reach a setup without being detected. You’ll learn how to identify and hunt the terrain features that consistently create elk encounters, including saddles, benches, drainages, creek crossings, timber points, ridgelines, aspect changes, and natural movement funnels. Matt also breaks down how rising and falling thermals interact with slope direction, shade, timber cover, canyon shape, and changing temperatures throughout the day. This episode covers: How terrain controls wind and thermal movement How to approach elk without allowing your scent to reach them Why bulls hang up when they can see the source of your calling How to use timber, bench edges, ridgelines, and terrain breaks to control sightlines How saddles and creek crossings funnel elk into predictable travel lanes How terrain affects bugles, cow calls, sound direction, and calling distance Why your access route may matter more than your final setup location How to use elevation for better glassing, cleaner wind, and less hunting pressure How to study elk country using topographic maps and satellite imagery before the season Matt draws from 34 years of hunting and guiding Western big game to explain how experienced elk hunters read the entire terrain system before making a move. The goal isn’t simply to find elk. It’s to understand how the mountain influences every part of the encounter so you can approach cleanly, protect the wind, create a high-percentage setup, and give a bull a reason to keep coming. The mountain is never neutral. It’s either helping you close the distance or helping the elk detect you. Learn how to make it work for you. Build your complete elk hunting system at BackboneUnlimited.com. Explore the Elk Hunting E-Book Series, TEAM Backbone membership, Elk Hunt Plan Audits, mountain hunting training programs, and nutrition plans designed to help Western hunters prepare with purpose. Train harder. Hunt smarter. Never settle.
- 1 weeks ago14 min
MOST ELK HUNTERS ONLY PLAN FOR 2 DAYS - HERE'S THE 10 DAY SYSTEM | 🎙️ EP. 210
Most elk hunters plan opening morning. Very few build an elk hunting strategy that carries them from day one through day ten. In this episode of the Backbone Unlimited Podcast, Matt Hartsky breaks down a complete day-by-day system for planning and executing a 10-day elk hunt. Instead of treating the entire trip like one long push, you’ll learn how to divide your hunt into four distinct phases: orienting and finding elk during days 1–2, executing on fresh information during days 3–5, managing fatigue and making strategic adjustments during days 6–8, and closing the hunt with full commitment on days 9–10. Matt explains why the first two days should focus on locating elk, reading fresh sign, understanding wind and thermal behavior, identifying bedding and feeding patterns, and confirming both a primary hunting zone and a backup area. You’ll also learn when to stay in productive elk country, when cold sign and zero contact justify a move, and why changing areas after one slow day is often a costly mistake. The middle of a long public-land elk hunt is where many hunters begin making decisions under fatigue, frustration, and doubt. This episode covers how to maintain confidence, manage physical recovery, use midday elk movement, glassing, wallows, and water sources more effectively, and decide whether to continue hunting known elk or make a strategic move while there’s still enough time left to execute. You’ll also hear how to approach the final two days of an elk hunt, why day ten should be hunted with the same urgency as opening morning, and how to prepare pack-out routes, meat-care timelines, food, hydration, recovery, and physical capacity before a bull is ever on the ground. Drawing from 34 years of western elk hunting and guiding, along with 30 years as a professional strength, conditioning, and nutrition coach, Matt lays out a practical system for staying effective across the full duration of a demanding backcountry elk hunt. Whether you’re preparing for a Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, or Oregon elk hunt, this episode will help you build a realistic plan for locating elk, managing hunting pressure, making better decisions, adapting when conditions change, and staying mentally and physically engaged through the final morning. A successful 10-day elk hunt isn’t built on luck. It’s built by knowing what every phase of the hunt is for before you ever reach the trailhead. Study the complete Elk Hunting E-Book Series, join Team Backbone, book a personalized Elk Hunt Plan Audit, or explore hunt-specific training and nutrition programs at backboneunlimited.com.
About Backbone Unlimited Podcast
Backbone Unlimited is a western hunting podcast for public-land hunters who want to stop guessing and build a better system for finding elk, mule deer and black bears, beating pressure, reading sign, understanding wind and thermals, and making cleaner decisions in the mountains. Hosted by Matt Hartsky, Backbone Unlimited combines 34+ years of western big game hunting experience with decades of strength, conditioning, and nutrition coaching to help hunters prepare smarter and hunt more effectively. Episodes cover elk hunting strategy, mule deer hunting, bear hunting, public land tactics, archery elk hunting, rifle hunting, e-scouting, scouting, glassing, calling, bedding areas, feed, water, transition zones, mountain fitness, hunt planning, field decision-making, meat care, gear, pack-outs, and the mindset it takes to keep improving season after season. If you’re serious about becoming a more capable western hunter, Backbone Unlimited is built to help you train harder, hunt smarter, and never settle.
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