WHY ELK HUNTING FEELS SO HARD | THE MINDSET MISTAKE MOST HUNTERS MAKE | 🎙️ EP. 116

Backbone Unlimited Podcast · Jan 15, 2026 · 10m

In this episode of Backbone Unlimited, Matt Hartsky breaks down one of the most common and rarely discussed reasons elk seasons implode early: showing up with a summer mindset in a September world. Many hunters enter the season with high confidence and clear expectations based on preseason scouting, trail cam photos, or how elk behaved in August—only to watch everything unravel in the first 24 to 48 hours. This episode explains why that disconnect happens and how September immediately exposes flawed assumptions about pressure, behavior, and predictability. Matt walks through the reality of…