Chances are that 300 acres is way too small to hunt elk on. If you have some good country around you and something to draw/keep them onto this acerage (alfalfa fields?), you might get lucky, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Elk are not like whitetail that run a short distance and then circle around a come back to the same general area. If you really spook an elk, he may run for 5 miles before he stops. Bottom line is that if you walked the property, you could easily scare off every elk that might be there in short order and don't expect them to come back anytime soon.

Having a place to stay free is nice, if you can hunt the surrounding public land and there are elk in the area, then you still have a good deal.

I doubt if there is much difference between the kick of a 300 win mag and a WSM. They are both going to kick. Both are great elk guns. If you get one, put a SIMS recoil pad on it and you should be fine. Anything from a 30-06 and up and you will be fine.

Here is the best source of teaching you how to use calls for elk: http://www.elknut.com/

Don't expect his videos to have any hunting scenes, he uses all his time to teach you what elk are saying and what to say back to them. Much more bang for the buck. The ones to start with are bugling bulls and beyond, vol I and II. If you like those, Worse than Wolves is also good. I watched the videos, but I got the CDs to play in the truck on the way to hunt! Definately worth the investment.