New Mexico Elk Hunting

New Mexico has no preference or bonus points of any kind for elk. The elk hunts listed in these guides are a random draw: a hunter ranks hunts by hunt code, and each application is given a random sequence number and processed in that order. Each application's first, second, and third choices are checked before the next application is processed. One applicant's second or third choice can therefore be awarded before a later applicant's first choice is considered. Landowners in the Elk Private Lands Use System also issue authorizations that let a hunter buy a Private-Land Elk License — a separate route from these draw hunts, with access rights that depend on the management zone and the ranch.

Hunters are drawn in three pools: residents; nonresidents applying without an outfitter; and applicants applying with a registered outfitter — a pool open to both residents and nonresidents. By law residents receive the large majority of licences. Antlerless elk hunts and hunts held only on state wildlife areas are for residents only.

Each guide covers what the country is like, how to get in, recent fires, and what each hunt is like on the ground, with draw difficulty in words for each pool.