Unit 42 Deer Hunting, New Mexico
New Mexico hunting unit · 4,294 sq mi
Draw hunts — random, no points
New Mexico has no preference or bonus points: every hunt here with draw odds is a random draw, with its own hunt code. Residents, nonresidents applying without an outfitter, and applicants applying with a registered outfitter (a pool open to residents and nonresidents) are drawn in separate pools, and the table gives each pool's odds in words. A Private-Land Only Deer License, sold outside the draw, covers private land only, with the landowner's written permission; it is never valid on public land, State Trust land included.
What hunting Unit 42 is like
Unit 42 is gentle and rolling country, with mean slope under five degrees and only a sliver of ground steep enough to call rugged. Lower elevations run heavy to shrub and brush, with just a trace of grass and meadow and riparian cover. Mid elevations stay dominated by shrub and brush too, with a little conifer and pinyon-juniper and grass and meadow mixed in. Up high the mix opens up some, with shrub and brush still leading but conifer and pinyon-juniper and grass and meadow each taking a real share — the closest thing to broken cover the unit offers. Most of the hunting here is foot country: long looks across open shrub flats and gentle rises rather than technical climbing.
Public land by ownership — State Trust land and BLM — covers only about 8.7 percent of the unit, so the great majority of Unit 42 is private, roughly 91 percent, and written permission is required to hunt it. Public ownership here is not the same as open access; some parcels are closed or restricted, and State Trust land can only be used during a hunter's own hunt, plus up to seven days of scouting beforehand, entering by public or established roads. Given how little public ground exists, a private-land-only deer licence sold outside the draw is a real option for hunters who can line up landowner permission, though it is valid solely on private land and never on any public ground, State Trust included.
The draw and the private-land route work side by side here. Draw hunts are assigned by random sequence number rather than by choice order, and bands differ by hunt and pool, so a hunter weighing Unit 42 should look closely at which season and pool fits before applying.
Deer hunts in Unit 42 (2026–27)
Each row is a hunt a hunter selects by its hunt code. Draw difficulty is a band in words from the 2026 first-choice results — good, fair, long or very long odds — for each pool; a dash means too few applicants to give a fair band. It is not a published percentage. The outfitter pool is open to both residents and nonresidents.
| Hunt | Dates | Legal deer | Resident | Nonresident, no outfitter | With an outfitter | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery DER-2-364 | September 1 – September 24 | Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) | Good odds | — | — | Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition |
| Muzzleloader DER-3-365 | September 27 – October 3 | Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) | — | — | — | Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition, Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase |
| Any legal weapon DER-1-361 | October 24 – October 28 | Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) | Fair odds | Fair odds | — | Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
| Any legal weapon DER-1-362 | October 31 – November 4 | Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) | Fair odds | — | — | Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
| Any legal weapon DER-1-363 | November 25 – November 29 | Either-sex white-tailed deer | Very long odds | — | — | Late Rut / Secondary Breeding |
"Residents only" hunts (antlerless elk, and hunts held only on state wildlife areas) are closed to nonresidents. "Unlimited" hunts are private-land hunts: no quota, no draw, valid on private land only with the landowner's written permission. A "Quality hunt" is a State Wildlife Commission designation for hunts meant to improve the chance of a successful harvest, offer a wider selection of mature animals, or give a better experience through timing or hunter density. Youth, mobility-impaired, military and other special-eligibility hunts are not listed.
Archery · Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) · September 1 – September 24
Archery hunters in this early-September window are working the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase, when bucks still hold fairly settled patterns near where they spent the summer. The approach is to glass at first light across the shrub and brush flats and any grass and meadow pockets to find a buck and mark where he beds, then close the distance in the middle of the day while he's down. Evening glassing often serves better for watching a buck until dark than for a fresh stalk, with a return the next morning. A buck that seems to vanish is usually still nearby, tucked into a small crevice or draw. This hunt draws Good odds for residents, and any buck taken must be a fork-antlered mule deer or white-tailed deer.
Muzzleloader · Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) · September 27 – October 3
By late September into early October this muzzleloader hunt spans both the tail of the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase and the start of the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, and bucks begin growing harder to catch moving in daylight. Early mornings glassing shady pockets and north-facing rises in the shrub and brush country still produce bedded bucks, but as the week goes on more bucks hold tight and stay bedded later, so persistence on the glass matters more than covering ground. Most deer are still near their summer haunts even as movement patterns shift toward nocturnal. The legal animal is a fork-antlered mule deer or white-tailed deer, and this hunt carries no listed draw band.
Any legal weapon · Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) · October 24 – October 28
Hunting late October means working the Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase, when deer may start shifting from summer range toward the ground they'll use during the rut. The best use of time is glassing the open shrub and brush and grass and meadow country that lies between where bucks have been feeding and bedding and where they're headed, since some deer — not all — follow that corridor. Both residents and nonresidents without an outfitter draw Fair odds on this any-legal-weapon hunt for fork-antlered mule deer or white-tailed deer, making it a reasonably accessible week to apply for.
Any legal weapon · Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) · October 31 – November 4
Running into early November, this hunt falls in the same Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase as the late-October season, so the same staging behavior applies: some bucks are on the move between summer range and rutting ground, and glassing the country connecting the two is the most productive use of time in this gentle, open terrain. Residents draw Fair odds on this any-legal-weapon hunt for fork-antlered mule deer or white-tailed deer. With gentle slopes dominating the unit, covering open shrub and brush ground methodically with optics pays off here as much as in the late-October week.
Any legal weapon · Either-sex white-tailed deer · November 25 – November 29
This late-November hunt falls in the Late Rut / Secondary Breeding phase for white-tailed deer, with any either-sex white-tail legal to take. It's a short five-day window set in the unit's gentle, rolling shrub and brush country, with conifer and pinyon-juniper and grass and meadow mixed in at higher elevations where a hunter might expect to find deer holding. The draw runs Very long odds for residents, reflecting how limited this particular hunt is. Success here depends on finding white-tailed deer wherever they're concentrated in this stage of the season, within whatever private or public ground a hunter can access.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,700–7,000 ft, typically around 5,000 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 88% gentle · 10% moderate · 3% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~374 sq mi
Habitat & cover
What grows here, by elevation. Each band adds to 100% on its own — these are shares of that band, not of the unit.
Lower elevations
- Shrub and brush91%
- Grass and meadow4%
- Other cover3%
- Riparian1%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush91%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper4%
- Grass and meadow4%
Higher elevations
- Shrub and brush58%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper21%
- Grass and meadow20%
- Other cover1%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 9% of Unit 42 is public land by ownership — State Trust land and BLM. Ownership is not the same as legal access: some parcels are closed or restricted.
- State Trust land7%
- BLM1%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private91%
Public land includes State Trust land (7% of this unit). You may use it only during your own hunt, plus up to 7 days of scouting beforehand, entering by public or established roads (NM State Land Office / Game Commission easement). Some parcels are withdrawn; check the State Land Office's hunting-access map.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 89°F, lows around 61°F
- September — highs around 82°F, lows around 53°F
- October — highs around 72°F, lows around 41°F, about 0.4 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 60°F, lows around 30°F, about 0.3 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 51°F, lows around 23°F, about 2.2 in of snowfall
Unit 42 deer hunting FAQ
Can a hunter get a deer licence for Unit 42 without going through the draw?
Yes. New Mexico sells a private-land-only deer licence outside the draw to residents and nonresidents alike. It is valid only on private land with the landowner's written permission and cannot be used on any public land, including State Trust land, so it depends entirely on securing that permission first.
How hard is it to draw a deer hunt in Unit 42, and does it differ by pool?
It depends on the hunt and the pool. The archery hunt shows Good odds for residents, the two late-October and early-November any-legal-weapon hunts show Fair odds, and the late-November either-sex white-tailed hunt shows Very long odds for residents; nonresidents applying without an outfitter only have a listed band on the late-October hunt, also Fair odds. Odds apply per application, not per person, and are never guaranteed.
Can a nonresident hunt deer in Unit 42?
Yes, a nonresident can apply for the draw hunts here, either alone or through the outfitter pool, which is open to both residents and nonresidents. A nonresident can also obtain the private-land-only licence sold outside the draw, provided they secure written landowner permission, since that licence is not restricted by residency.
Does New Mexico use preference points or bonus points for deer like some other states?
No. New Mexico has no points system of any kind for deer, so there is nothing to build or hold from one year to the next. Every application in the draw is simply assigned a random sequence number and processed in that order.
How much of Unit 42 is public land, and what are the rules on State Trust land there?
Public land by ownership — State Trust land and BLM combined — covers only about 8.7 percent of the unit, with the remaining roughly 91 percent in private ownership requiring written permission to hunt. State Trust land can be used only during a hunter's own hunt, plus up to seven days of scouting beforehand, entering by public or established roads, and some parcels are withdrawn from access entirely.
Data sources & methodology
- New Mexico Department of Game and Fish — Hunting Rules & Info booklet (2026-27) — season dates, legal animals, hunt codes and the rules for each hunt
- New Mexico Department of Game and Fish — How the New Mexico draw works — the random draw, the choices a hunter ranks and how licences are split among the draw pools
- New Mexico Department of Game and Fish — Applications and draw information — the draw results behind the draw-difficulty bands for each pool
- New Mexico Department of Game and Fish — Game management unit maps — unit boundaries and the official unit maps
- USGS / MRLC — National Land Cover Database — habitat and cover classes by elevation band
- USGS PAD-US — Protected Areas Database of the United States — land ownership and access
- Daymet daily climate, 1991–2020 (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) — fall weather
- National Interagency Fire Center — wildfire perimeters — recent fires, their size and where they burned
Draw difficulty is a qualitative band from first-choice results for each pool, not published odds. Rut phases are regional timing, not New Mexico-specific dates. Land shares are separate, non-overlapping categories. Confirm current dates and rules in the New Mexico Hunting Rules & Info booklet before you hunt. Unit data last updated October 21, 2026.