Perhaps this is just me, but whenever I am starting something completely new I usually try to get help, and I hire someone if I have to. Something like elk hunting when you aren't from the west is hard to find someone that 1) has any real knowledge of where & how to hunt them and 2) that you could tolerate for a week in a tent together. If I was going to pick up golf I would take some lessons. If I were to start elk hunting in a vast public area, I would find someone to help me figure out where to start one way or another. Just my $0.02.