How many years have they been in operation.

Sorry I cant help more, never done it.

Get a list of items that they will supply and items that you must supply.

Do they offer you guaranteed return trip next year if you are unsuccessful. Not a guaranteed animal just a guaranteed spot next year if you want.

Weight restrictions on gear?

How many miles will you be packing in?

How will you be packing the animal out?

Altitude you will be hunting at.

Speak with the fish and game of the state your interested in and get the harvest statistics for the unit or units you intend to hunt in.Speak with a biologist of the game you are intending to hunt and ask him or her the overall condition of the herd is it improving or declining and what area's they think hold the greatest concentrations of game,also ask for harvest statistics for present year and a couple years back to see it in black and white.
Speak with the state outfitters and guides association to see if this outfitter has any violations on file against them.Personally if I were to book a hunt I would be using a service such as Garth Carter's Huntin Fool,and even if using a service I would still do all the follow up research.An elk hunt is not cheap it pays to do all the home work you can!

Watch for anything that guarantees you getan animal or a shot, heck even seeing an animal. If they are free range and wild, you could be surrounded by elk and never see them. If they guarantee success, RUN AWAY.

A few others I thought of:

- OTC or draw tags? If draw, what happens if you don't draw? You probably have money down to hold your spot with the outfitter, do you get it back, roll to next year, locked in?? Best I've seen was your option, refund or roll to next year and lock in this years price.

- If draw, who applies? Do they help, is it up to you? If OTC do they get it for you or do you need to have it in your pocket when you show up?