OTC elk hunt is USA
 

I have done some initial google'ing but haven't figured it out yet.

I am interested in the prospect of hunting elk in the US one day. As Canadians, is there any opportunity to buy an over the counter tag WITHOUT requiring a guide or hunter host? It seems like 6 states have OTC tags, just not sure if Canucks are eligible: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Colorado.

Anyone have info on this?

Thanks.

You can buy an over the counter Bull tag in Idaho. Not everywhere but in quite a bit of it. Just buy a tag and a licence and go Ive had a few of them, just never connected:thinking-006:

You can get over the counter non resident alien (NRA) tags in Colorado. Idaho has first come first served elk NRA tags too. Montana had some leftover elk tags when I looked a while ago. You don't need a guide or host in any of these states.

If you are going to hunt US elk one day you should consider the MT draw (very high odds) and buying points in WY or CO.

Thanks for the info guys. Any idea on restrictions with bringing back meat to a Canada?

Kind of
 

There are areas in Montana that require a guide, such as Wilderness back country zones. They usually have a few left over Mule and Elk combo licenses for general zones. You'll have to hunt hard on those.

Most OTC tags in the USA for elk are going to be hard hunts and with the dollar being the way it is, an elk tag in Colorado for example (which is known for it's high elk population and high elk hunter numbers) will cost you close to 850-900$. There is very few good otc elk hunting down there that will even rival the opportunities we have in Alberta, poeple don't realize how good we have it here (Elk in all 5 subregions, months of general season in the north or archery seasons in the south, draws for some hunts, cow hunts that are easy to get and even otc in a lot of units, hunting pressure, access to private land, overal cost of a hunt, bull quality and overal elk numbers).

If you are considering playing the points game and want a shot at big boys or the better hunts, Colorado and WY are not your first pick for points. Many states have hunts or a point system where if you don't already have points you are throwing money away because you will statistically never ever draw them for a list of reasons (Wa, Or, some of AZ with their new system, most of Co, just to name those ones).

MT is interesting but with social media bringing attention to it and the fact you can easily get a tag there (for 868$ usd so 1154$ cad at todays rate...), it does see pressure from non residents. It can be done, but it's no walk in the park.

Have a lot of hours behind the computer and on the phone doing research, this is my 2 cents worth.

Thanks Pierre. Lots of great info.

I just got back from CO scouting for the OTC archery hunt this fall. I live in AZ now (just haven't updated my profile on here lately) but I can tell you for certain the OTC tag in AZ is not something that you want to be hunting. The OTC tag in AZ is for areas with very small numbers of elk, typically surrounding cities like Flagstaff where Game and Fish does not want an established elk population. (Too much human-elk interaction) so to combat this they offer OTC hunts but in reality the amount of human activity keeps most of the elk pushed out of these areas. Your only chance of getting an elk on one of those hunts is to have some wander across a boundary into an open area.

CO does have OTC tags, and lots of public land, but again it is going to be expensive, and you are going to have to do a lot of computer scouting as it is quite a hike from Ab and you probably won't be able to put boots on the ground ahead of the season. I also have no idea what the hunting pressure will be like in the season. I can only assume based on what I have read that rifle season is a zoo and archery season is a bit more relaxed.

Good luck with your search, hopefully it works out for you.

Thanks duck duck goose. Good luck with your upcoming CO hunt.

new mexico has great elk but its a draw but dont need guide or host.

I think you mean Wyoming. Montana doesn't have a guide restriction on non residents hunting anywhere.

To the op shoot me a pm I'm a game warden in Montana so I'll help wherever I can. True there are some left over non resident elk combos and big game combos. They are going fast though. If you want meat you can buy an otc b license for anylerless elk in an area that has a shoulder season and can hunt elk from August 15 thru February 15 2018. That's how I got 2 elk last year.