Unit 43 Deer Hunting, New Mexico
New Mexico hunting unit · 1,903 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 43 is like
Unit 43 is gentle, rolling country, with mean slope a bit over four degrees and nearly all of its area classed as gentle or moderate ground. This is a unit where legs matter less than glass — long sightlines across shrub and brush flats at the lower elevations, more grass and meadow mixed with brush through the middle elevations, and conifer and pinyon-juniper woodland taking over only up near the top of the elevation range. A hunter can walk almost anywhere in it, but the open character of the lower country also means deer can see and smell a hunter from a long way off, so most of the work here is done with optics and careful approach rather than brute terrain.
Public land covers roughly a quarter of the unit by ownership, a mix of State Trust land, National Forest and BLM, and that figure does not mean the ground is open or easy — some parcels are closed or restricted. State Trust land makes up a sizeable share of that public total, but it can only be hunted during a hunter's own hunt, plus a short scouting window before it, and only by entering on public or established roads. The remaining roughly three-quarters of Unit 43 is private, and hunting it requires the landowner's written permission. A private-land-only deer licence is also sold outside the draw for hunters who have that permission; it never applies to State Trust or any other public ground.
The three fall hunts in Unit 43 — archery, muzzleloader and any-legal-weapon — give a hunter a choice of approach but not a choice of ground gained, since the terrain and access situation stays the same across all three. Odds differ hunt to hunt and pool to pool, and because residents receive the large majority of licenses by law, a nonresident applicant should expect the numbers to run against the resident bands shown for each hunt.
Deer hunts in Unit 43 (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-2-367 | September 1 – September 24 | Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) | Fair odds | — | — | Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition |
| Muzzleloader DER-3-368 | October 24 – October 28 | Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) | Fair odds | — | — | Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
| Any legal weapon DER-1-366 | November 7 – November 11 | Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) | Long odds | — | — | Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
"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 season opens right as bucks are shedding velvet, and through this stretch their daily pattern stays fairly set: feeding into the morning, then bedding in shade for most of the day before moving again in the evening. In Unit 43's open shrub and brush and grass and meadow country, that means glassing shady pockets and north-facing slopes at first light to locate a bedded buck, then working a stalk while he holds still through the middle of the day. A buck that seems to vanish is usually still there, tucked into a nearby draw or crevice, so it pays to keep glassing the same pocket rather than move on. The hunt runs through late September on fork-antlered deer, mule deer or white-tailed, with fair odds in the resident draw pool for this archery hunt (DER-2-367).
Muzzleloader · Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) · October 24 – October 28
By the time the muzzleloader hunt opens in late October, the unit has moved into the early pre-rut, and deer in places that migrate seasonally may be starting to work toward the ground they'll use during the rut. The smart play in this gentle, rolling unit is to glass the country between the open lower-elevation flats where deer spent the summer and the higher conifer and pinyon-juniper woodland they'll drift toward later, watching for deer caught mid-move. This is a short five-day season on fork-antlered deer, mule deer or white-tailed, with fair odds in the resident draw pool for the muzzleloader hunt (DER-3-368).
Any legal weapon · Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) · November 7 – November 11
The any-legal-weapon hunt in November falls in the same early pre-rut and migration-staging window as the muzzleloader season, so the approach carries over: glass the ground connecting summer range to where deer will gather for the rut, since some animals may still be shifting through on their way. November brings modest average snowfall and lows near freezing in Unit 43; if snow has actually piled up by the hunt's dates, working lower into the shrub and brush and grass and meadow country can pay off, while in a lighter year deer may still be scattered higher in the woodland. This is the unit's longest-odds deer hunt for residents, drawn with long odds for the resident pool on fork-antlered deer, mule deer or white-tailed (DER-1-366).
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,500–8,200 ft, typically around 6,400 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 91% gentle · 7% moderate · 2% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~501 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 brush87%
- Grass and meadow7%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper4%
- Other cover2%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush60%
- Grass and meadow25%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper12%
- Other cover3%
Higher elevations
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper43%
- Shrub and brush39%
- Grass and meadow17%
- 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 26% of Unit 43 is public land by ownership — State Trust land, National Forest and BLM. Ownership is not the same as legal access: some parcels are closed or restricted.
- State Trust land16%
- National Forest9%
- BLM1%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private74%
Public land includes State Trust land (16% 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 85°F, lows around 54°F
- September — highs around 79°F, lows around 47°F
- October — highs around 68°F, lows around 36°F, about 0.4 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 57°F, lows around 26°F, about 0.9 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 47°F, lows around 19°F, about 3.1 in of snowfall
Unit 43 deer hunting FAQ
Can a hunter get a deer licence for Unit 43 without putting in for the draw?
Yes. Besides the draw hunts, Unit 43 has a private-land-only deer licence sold outside the draw to residents and nonresidents alike. That licence is only valid on private land with the landowner's written permission and is never valid on any public land, including State Trust land.
How hard is it to draw a deer hunt in Unit 43?
It depends on the hunt and the pool. The resident pool shows fair odds for both the archery hunt (DER-2-367) and the muzzleloader hunt (DER-3-368), while the any-legal-weapon hunt (DER-1-366) carries long odds for residents; odds are given per application, not per person, and are never guaranteed.
Can a nonresident hunt deer in Unit 43?
Yes, a nonresident can apply for any of the draw hunts through the nonresident pools, 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 have written landowner permission.
Does New Mexico use preference points for deer hunts like Unit 43?
No. New Mexico has no preference points or bonus points of any kind for deer. Every application for a Unit 43 draw hunt is simply assigned a random sequence number each year.
How much of Unit 43 can a hunter count on reaching for public hunting?
Only about a quarter of the unit is public land by ownership, split between State Trust land, National Forest and BLM, and that is an ownership figure, not a guarantee of access since some parcels are closed or restricted. State Trust land can only be entered during a hunter's own hunt and a short scouting window beforehand, using public or established roads, while the remaining roughly three-quarters of the unit is private and requires written permission.
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.