in all honesty what are you wanting to hunt? Are you wanting something for the trophy or the meat or both? Elk are found all threw the west, some states have a ton and getting a tag is easier, if your not looking for a massive bull (you'd need 16ft ceiling for a shoulder mount anyways) your gonna pay out the ass and have to enter a lottery draw. if you want a bull but doesn't have to be a huge bull their are plenty of states that you could make it happen on public land and have a good chance of getting a permit on your first year in the lottery. Some states have a lottery for certain areas, but also have a general state draw that the tag would be good anywhere in the state except special permit areas (area where the massive bulls would be) additionally some have "management tags" these are easier to get but are usually for a cow in a certain area but also have a high chance of success because the tag was issued in an area with high population density.
If you want a Buffalo do some research there are several herds in the US that are "wild" some are on private land, Indian reservations, or free range on public lands. These herds are managed and animals are taken from these herds every year to hold the population at a steady level.
either of these options might take a year or two or five to get setup and get a tag and dont guarantee success. but on the other hand id rather do that then hunt a farm, you can also get a tag for a pronghorn just about everywhere they live out west over the counter, so if you get a tag for an elk in an area where they are also or close by id get a tag for one and if you bag an elk early you can switch up and hunt them with rest of your time. thats the plan with going to Maine and moose hunting if we get a moose we've got our bird dogs and we will start grouse hunting.
