Get in better shape!
That is the number reason most hunters are unsuccessfull. Elk hunting will wear you down faster then you can imagine. If you are too tired to hunt the areas where the elk are you are spinning your wheels.
Practice shooting offhand, timber elk often give you only a couple seconds to get off a shot at a moving animal.
Bring your bugle and cow call, the first day or two use your bugle to locate, unless there are a lot of hunters.
I have called in many bulls on Oct. 15th here in Idaho using the bugle and the cow call. Opening day is by far your best chance to call a bull during rifle season.
After the second day leave your bugle in camp.
We have hung meat in the shade and put an old sleeping bag over it in the day and take it off at night to cool in up to 60 degree weather and not had any meat spoilage.
During the day the elk will be in the N or NE facing slopes in the timber, look for flat benches on these slopes with water, usually at mid elevations. They normally travel out at dark to feed in the nearest meadow and back before sunup to the timber. Once the pressure hits they find small meadows in the timber to feed in and rarely show themselves during the day unless hunters are moving them around.
This is public land hunting, whole different story on unpressured elk on private land of course. Good luck with your hunt!