For a first time, money aside, I"d recommend and outfitter. It doesn't have to be just a shooting trip. YOu can learn alot from a guide. Based on my experience, limited to 3 trips with an outfitter, I've learned to call, and learned a bit about how to find elk. I'd love a DIY, but when I started, I chose the outfitted route to up my odds of running into elk. From NH, I'd never seen one outside a farm, had no clue where, or how to find them.

It was a worthwhile investment for me and my choices. More power to the DIY guys, while I can financially swing an annual DIY trip, I can't do it for other reasons, my one every 3-5 years when I get to go, I'll take the outfitter. It's not a guarentee, but when you are honest with them and want to learn, my experience with them says you will learn. Last trip out, i called in a bull for my wife while the guide was with her and I was back calling.