# YOU'RE HUNTING EARLY SEASON ELK AND RUTTING BULLS THE SAME WAY - AND ITS COSTING YOU | EP. 218

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/backbone-unlimited-podcast-7365967/you-re-hunting-early-season-elk-and-rutting-bulls-the-same-way-and-its-costing-you-ep-218
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/backbone-unlimited-podcast-7365967/you-re-hunting-early-season-elk-and-rutting-bulls-the-same-way-and-its-costing-you-ep-218.md
Podcast: [Backbone Unlimited Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/backbone-unlimited-podcast-7365967)
Published: 2026-07-30T23:20:23+00:00
Episode link: https://backboneunlimited.podbean.com/e/youre-hunting-early-season-elk-and-rutting-bulls-the-same-way-and-its-costing-you-ep-218/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/e8vkezws7bquatxb/Youre_Hunting_Early_Season_Elk_and_Rutting_Bulls_the_Same_Way_-_And_Its_Costing_You_96vac.mp3
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Duration seconds: 1011

## Resource

Early season elk hunting and hunting rutting bulls require two completely different strategies. Yet every September, hunters arrive with the same calls, the same marked locations, and the same plan—whether they’re hunting September 1 or September 20. In this episode, Matt Hartsky explains why using rut tactics on early season elk can destroy predictable patterns, educate bulls, and make the rest of your season harder. He also breaks down why patient, structure-based early season tactics become a liability once the rut begins and elk start reorganizing their movement around cows and breeding. You’ll learn how to hunt early season elk by identifying feed-to-timber transitions, water corridors, terrain pinch points, bedding routes, fresh sign, and other predictable movement patterns. Matt explains why early September calling should usually be minimal, why aggressive bugling can push bulls out of huntable areas, and how to protect productive locations instead of pressuring them until they go cold. Then, the episode shifts into rut hunting strategy: locating vocal elk, staying mobile, closing distance, reading individual bulls, and adjusting your calling approach for herd bulls versus satellite bulls. Matt also explains why early season locations such as wallows and water sources may become rut traps once bulls begin following cows across multiple drainages. Most importantly, you’ll learn the four signals that tell you when it’s time to switch playbooks: natural vocalization, extended daylight movement, bulls mixing with cow groups, and aggressive responses to calling. Whether you’re bowhunting elk during the first week of September or chasing bugling bulls during the peak rut, this episode will help you recognize which phase you’re actually hunting—and choose the tactics t…

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