im gonna do an otc hunt, alone,  in another state.  i know thats not really crazy, but the crazy part is where.  i dont know where.  im gonna make it totally random.  gonna let fate decide what state i hunt in. could be in grizz country, could be in roosevelt country, could be in the flat tops, i dont know!
basically my plan is this. im going to get a list of every single otc elk tag in the western us. has to be a bull tag and not a spike only.  gonna  basically throw all of em in a hat and draw one, and start researching the hell out of it.  also, ill video and put on here the "drawing", so you will all see exactly where i draw, and i think i thougth of a cool way to do the drawing. ill try to get this part done in the next few days.
the only stipulations i have are, the areas must have good public access.  any otc area that is mostly to nearly all private wont be in the drawing. also, i do apply for some great tags around the west, and next year my vacation is gonna be a few days less as me and my brother are accompanying our dad on his trip of a lifetime, so if i draw some killer tag, this will be put on hold for one year. but, ill still do this same hunt the year after.  seriously, im not too far into any prefernce point area yet, so really im a longshot to draw.  my bet is this happens next year.  and further, im doing this one alone.  thats kind of a test ive been wanting to take as i usually camp with friends. of course this could turn into a back pack trip, or an area with good places for a nice base camp. i guess well see.  the ONLY way im considering taking anyone else is if i have someone come be a cameraman to the train wreck that this could be lol.

ive been toying with doing this for a while now so gonna make it happen. a lot of the reason is ive thought about a lot of otc areas and want to try em, but only have time for one so why not just late fate do the picking.  im gonna be like a kid in a candy store at the "drawing", anxious to see what i get myself into.  honestly, if i end up drawing a spot that is known for terrible success rates and hard hunting, thats all good, im going at it full bore no matter what.

Great idea. Even better attitude around all the variables. Looking forward to the "report".
Good luck.

its gonna be fun.  it was mentioned to me on another website that some areas, say for instance, eastern colorado, is an otc area even though it is elkless basically.  areas like that wont be in it either, as in that case im figuring that any elk in eastern colorado are on private land, and one rule is this has to be accessable...

Can't think of many things that could be more challenging.  But I'm betting you're the man for the job!  

Lots of guys end up hunting those kind of places every year and only a small percentage ever kill elk.  Funny part is though, there are a few that do it consistently year after year.  It's all a matter of setting yourself apart from the rest through research and then knowing what to do when you get there.

Good luck!

I'm really looking forward to it! I was planning on trying an otc hunt next fall but was having trouble choosing where I wanted to hunt. So, I just won't do the picking!!

This sounds like a great thread to follow!  With the kind of success you have, this sounds like fun!

Bernie Bjorklund

NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin

well im getting my stuff put together.  have figured out that arizona has otc tags, but theyre non herd units, places they are trying to not have any elk living so theyre out. going though idaho, oregon, and colorado info right now.  eastern colorado is otc but its out also, non herd units. does anyone know if any other parts of colorado or any of oregon is like this?  dont want to include them..

draw out of a hat? come on man you need to shoot for it! I vote for a buddy to write a bunch of the states you pick on a paper plate and throw it out on the target 20 or so yards so you cant read them.. pick on and see what you hit    

this sounds like a blast though and I think you will ahve a good time for sure! I have never hunted out of state only here in oregon, if you head this way give me a shout

i am shooting for it actually, im making a target with all the areas on the backside of cards, and shooting a longer shot at it.  what i hit is where i go. im ruling out montana too, there are a lot of places i can hunt on a general, but it doesnt limit me to any of em.  i can bounce area to area there and im looking to get set in a certain spot.  looks like idaho, colorado, and oregon so far.  looking at washington too.

this is a cool way to, pun intended, "PICK A SPOT"

ok i ruled out washing ton as well, same as montana i can jump areas with my license.  not saying im not gonna ever hunt those states, just not next year in this little project. looks like im set on oregon, colorado, and idaho as my target states.  now to "draw a tag"....

well, im building the target for my "draw" right now. ive written all the areas on small pieces of paper, and am taping em to a target, face down.  gonna shoot from a longer distance and what i hit is where im hunting next fall.  if the arrow hits 2 pieces of paper, the one i hit more of is the winner.  a tie goes to the one on the right.

ok my draw is done.  i got the areas written out on little pieces of paper and stuck em to a big old box....

 

i went ahead and put it out in my barn.  wanted to be able to shoot long here...

 

it took a couple shots, i missed it left the first time.  had the heighth. not even sure how far, but im betting it was neighborhood of 60 yards.  if ya look near the shadow in the pic, you can see a hole on the edge of one of the pieces of paper. and the winner is....

sprague is area 33 in oregon!!!  

now im really confused.  one guy on archerytalk send me a LONG pm before i knew where id drew, and he mentioned 33 in one of his list of lower elk densitys but tons of public and some big bulls. but, i went to the oregon website, they actually had a pretty high kill percentage for archery, and have it listed as roosevelts!  it looks a tad east for roosies to me.  

so, does anybody on here know anything about area 33 in oregon??

I sure as heck don't know anything about unit 33 in Oregon, but if it has elk, I'm sure you will find them. Good luck Brad.

go go for it.... Elk are amazing animals particularly during the rut.  Still cagey but....

Wow, what a great hit!  Absolutely beautiful part of the country.  Now the fun part starts!!

ya im getting excited!  from the people ive heard from out there, i can have a great hunt there.  sounds like i need to buy a deer tag too, they have some dandy muleys.