Hello, new member here:

I have a little experience with elk hunting, Colorado and Idaho. These have mostly been archery hunts in Sept. It has been quite a few years and Ihave yet to get one.
My son (16 yr old) would like to try it now, but would like to try with rifle for his first time. This bring some questions as to how I could pull this off with him.
First - I wouldn't mind doing a DYI hunt - 3 of us did this in Colorado twice and was able to 4WD truck in quite a ways to set up a camp, but since rifle season is generally a couple weeks later, I would be concerned about getting snowed in.
Second - an outfitted/guided hunt would be too pricey (I'll likely end up paying the bulk of this trip). A drop camp may be a possibility.
Third -We would need to be able to get a bull or either-or tag, and in an area that is not heavily crowded but that holds a reasonable chance of taking an elk.
I may consider boating into an area to set up a camp if that is a possibility somewhere and would get us away from crowds and/or the reach of 4-wheelers.

I'm thinking Colorado and Idaho may be our best bets for a tag at a reasonable cost, although, if we were able to make a DIY hunt work, I may consider Montana, even though the licence cost there is rediculous enough to mostly discourage non-resident hunters.

I'm probably asking a lot, but any suggestions???
Thanks much for any help or advise.