My first advise is to look on the WDFW website. Success rates for each GMU by weapon are listed. That will narrow down where hunting is generally good and generally bad. From there, figure out what weapon you want to use. Rifle is probably best for blacktails based on season timing and the weapon itself. I don't think the same applies for elk, especially if you want any kind of solitude. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have more specific questions along the way. I'd be happy to share what I know.