Unit 48 Deer Hunting, New Mexico
New Mexico hunting unit · 378 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 48 is like
Unit 48 is gentle and rolling country by the numbers, with the great majority of its ground classed as gentle or moderate slope and almost nothing that qualifies as rugged. Elevation runs from under 6,000 feet up to nearly 10,700 feet, and the cover shifts with it: lower ground is mostly grass and meadow with a belt of shrub and brush, mid elevations mix shrub and brush with grass and meadow and a growing share of conifer and pinyon-juniper, and the high country is dominated by conifer and pinyon-juniper timber with a little deciduous forest and riparian mixed in. Because the slopes are easy, this is a unit where a hunter can cover ground on foot and glass long stretches of open country rather than fight elevation.
Access is the real limiting factor here. Only about 29% of Unit 48 is public land by ownership, split between State Trust land, BLM, and a State Wildlife Management Area, and that figure describes ownership, not guaranteed entry — some parcels are closed or restricted. State Trust land can be hunted only during a hunter's own hunt, plus up to a week of scouting beforehand, and only by entering on public or established roads. The remaining roughly 71% of the unit is private, and written permission is required to hunt it. The Cooks Peak fire burned about 49,000 acres toward the middle of the unit in 2022, and by the seasons described here that ground is two to four years post-fire — prime timing for glassing open burn edges where feed has come back in. Hunters should check for current fire closures before heading out.
Deer in Unit 48 can be pursued through the draw hunts below or through a private-land-only deer licence sold outside the draw to residents and nonresidents alike; that licence is valid only on private land with written permission and never on public land of any kind, State Trust included. New Mexico has no points system for deer, so every application stands on its own in a random draw each year.
Deer hunts in Unit 48 (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-2-381 | September 1 – September 24 | Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) | Fair odds | Long odds | — | Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition |
| Muzzleloader DER-3-382 | September 27 – October 3 | Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) | Long odds | Long odds | — | Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition, Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase |
| Any legal weapon DER-1-379 | October 31 – November 4 | Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) | Long odds | Long odds | — | Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
| Any legal weapon DER-1-380 | November 7 – November 11 | Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) | Long odds | Very 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 hunters in the first weeks of September are working the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase, when bucks still hold to a steady daily rhythm — feeding into the morning, then bedding in shade through the heat of the day. The gentle, rolling terrain makes early-morning glassing effective, and a hunter who finds a buck feeding at first light can watch him bed and then plan a midday stalk, or glass again in the evening and return the next morning if the light runs out. Once velvet sheds, bucks tend to bed earlier and stay put later, so checking small crevices and draws near a bedding area is worthwhile if a buck seems to vanish. This hunt carries Fair odds for residents and Long odds for nonresidents without an outfitter, and the legal animal is a fork-antlered mule deer or white-tailed deer.
Muzzleloader · Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) · September 27 – October 3
By the end of September into early October, the muzzleloader hunt still falls partly in the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase but also reaches into the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, when bucks grow steadily harder to catch moving in daylight. The same glassing approach — working shady pockets and north-facing ground at first light, then checking bedding areas through the day — still applies, but patience matters more as bucks shift toward nocturnal habits while mostly staying near their summer range. The burned ground from the Cooks Peak fire, now two to four years removed from the fire, offers open sightlines where deer may feed in the open edges near timber at the margins of the day. Both resident and nonresident applicants face Long odds for this hunt, which is restricted to any legal weapon other than archery equipment and a fork-antlered deer.
Any legal weapon · Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) · October 31 – November 4
The late-October hunt opens right as deer enter the Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase, when some deer may begin moving from summer range toward areas they will use during the rut. Glassing the country between known summer haunts and likely staging ground can pay off, especially across the unit's open grass and meadow and shrub and brush at lower and mid elevations where movement is easier to spot. November temperatures average lows near 24°F with light snowfall, and any accumulated snow can help push deer off the highest timbered ground, so it is worth watching conditions and adjusting toward lower cover if snow has built up. This any-legal-weapon hunt carries Long odds in both the resident and nonresident pools for a fork-antlered deer.
Any legal weapon · Fork-antlered deer (mule deer or white-tailed) · November 7 – November 11
The second November hunt falls in the same Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase, with deer still potentially working toward rutting ground rather than concentrated there. The approach is the same as the late-October hunt — glass the corridor between summer range and staging areas, using the open lower and mid-elevation cover to pick apart distant hillsides — but odds narrow further, with Long odds for residents and Very long odds for nonresidents without an outfitter. With November's average snowfall and lows near 24°F, a hunter who finds fresh snow accumulated on higher ground may do better working lower-elevation grass, meadow, and shrub and brush. The legal animal remains a fork-antlered mule deer or white-tailed deer, taken with any legal weapon.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 5,900–10,700 ft, typically around 7,100 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 87% gentle · 11% moderate · 2% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~110 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
- Grass and meadow65%
- Shrub and brush29%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper3%
- Riparian2%
- Other cover1%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush45%
- Grass and meadow36%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper16%
- Riparian2%
- Other cover1%
Higher elevations
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper75%
- Shrub and brush18%
- Riparian3%
- Grass and meadow2%
- Deciduous forest2%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Recent fires
Wildfires in the last several seasons that burned a meaningful share of Unit 48. Fire perimeters show where a fire burned, not how hot — and closures change through the year, so check current fire closures and restrictions before you go.
- Cooks Peak fire, 2022 — about 49,000 acres in the unit (20%), toward the middle of the unit.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 29% of Unit 48 is public land by ownership — State Trust land, BLM and State Wildlife Management Area. Ownership is not the same as legal access: some parcels are closed or restricted.
- State Trust land28%
- BLM<1%
- State Wildlife Management Area<1%
- Private71%
Public land includes State Trust land (28% 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 83°F, lows around 51°F
- September — highs around 77°F, lows around 44°F
- October — highs around 67°F, lows around 34°F, about 0.5 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 56°F, lows around 24°F, about 1.6 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 47°F, lows around 17°F, about 3.6 in of snowfall
Unit 48 deer hunting FAQ
How does a hunter get a deer licence for Unit 48?
A hunter can apply for one of the draw hunts listed for Unit 48, each identified by its own hunt code, or obtain a private-land-only deer licence sold outside the draw. The private-land-only licence is valid solely on private land with the landowner's written permission and cannot be used on any public land, including State Trust land.
How hard are the Unit 48 deer draws, and does it differ by pool?
Odds vary by hunt and by pool. The archery hunt offers Fair odds for residents and Long odds for nonresidents without an outfitter, while the muzzleloader hunt and the late-October any-legal-weapon hunt both run Long odds for residents and nonresidents alike. The second November hunt is tighter still, with Long odds for residents and Very long odds for nonresidents applying without an outfitter.
Can a nonresident hunt deer in Unit 48?
Yes. Nonresidents can apply for any of the draw hunts, either on their own or through a registered outfitter, and nonresidents can also obtain a private-land-only deer licence outside the draw. None of the deer hunts listed for Unit 48 are restricted to residents only.
Does New Mexico use points for deer in Unit 48?
No. New Mexico has no preference points or bonus points system for deer of any kind. Every application for a Unit 48 deer hunt is assigned a random sequence number each year and stands on its own regardless of past application history.
How much of Unit 48 is public land, and what is the rule on State Trust land?
About 29% of the unit, roughly 110 square miles, is public by ownership, combining State Trust land, BLM, and a State Wildlife Management Area; the remaining roughly 71% is private and requires written permission. State Trust land, which makes up 28% of the unit, can only be used during a hunter's own hunt plus up to seven days of scouting beforehand, entering by public or established roads.
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.