Oregon has OTC tags with what they call "Hunter Opportunity". Here's how it works.
You buy an out of state license and elk rifle tag for an OTC area for a few hundred bucks. You spend a couple thousand more on logistics and time off, drive to wet western Oregon and try to find a campsite in mountains too steep for goats. You're limited to elk only, so don't ask about a deer tag at the same time.
You walk around getting rained on and wading thru rain soaked hemlocks and firs for 7 days, never spotting an elk and rarely seeing any evidence elk even exist. You load up all your rain soaked gear and drive 1200 miles back home, relishing your amazing hunt, and all that "Hunter Opportunity" Oregon has to offer OTC elk hunters.
I'm sure other states versions vary from Oregon's in that we have a lock on the misery only a rainforest in winter can afford a hunter, but you get the idea. If you're going to hunt elk, plan ahead and put in for good tags. FTR, there aren't many good tags in Oregon.
