RE: How to hunt elk??????
Best advice yet. Go with an experienced buddy. I don't know about the cow tag thing. Depends on when you go. I hunt a late September, early October hunt. Bulls are easy to locate and you can earn your stripes trying to get in on them. Cows are hard to find during that period unless you find them all. Once the herds break up, cows are easier to hunt as they will be on the move.
Chances are, if you ain't going to put in for a tag, you'll be find hunting cows because early hunts are usually meanspecial drawings.