Unit 14 Elk Hunting, New Mexico
New Mexico hunting unit · 1,656 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.
What hunting Unit 14 is like
Unit 14 is gentle, rolling country, with mean slope of only about 5 degrees and the overwhelming majority of the ground classed as gentle terrain. Elevations run from about 4,700 feet up to roughly 10,100 feet, with most of the unit sitting near 6,000 feet. Lower elevations lean heavily to shrub and brush with some grass and meadow and a little riparian cover, mid elevations mix shrub and brush with grass and meadow and a touch of conifer and pinyon-juniper, and the higher country shifts to conifer and pinyon-juniper timber with shrub and brush and grass and meadow beneath it. With slopes this gentle almost everywhere, this is foot-friendly country where the challenge is less about climbing and more about covering ground and finding elk in open-looking terrain.
Only about 16 percent of Unit 14 is public land by ownership, a mix of National Forest, State Trust land, BLM and a State Wildlife Management Area, and ownership is not the same as guaranteed access since some parcels are closed or restricted. State Trust land makes up about 3 percent of the unit and can be used only during a hunter's own hunt, plus up to seven days of scouting beforehand, entering by public or established roads. Another roughly 16 percent is closed to state-licensed hunting entirely, covering tribal land that requires the tribe's own permission and licence and military land that is closed outright. The remaining 67 percent is private, and hunting it requires written permission from the landowner.
The public draw hunt listed here requires an application through the random draw, while landowners enrolled in the Elk Private Lands Use System separately issue authorizations that let a hunter buy a private-land elk licence as another route into the unit. There are no preference or bonus points in New Mexico for elk; every applicant's sequence number is drawn at random each year regardless of history.
Elk hunts in Unit 14 (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 elk | Resident | Nonresident, no outfitter | With an outfitter | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any legal weapon ELK-1-392 | October 1 – October 5 | Any elk | Very long odds | — | Long odds | Late Rut / Early Post-Rut |
"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.
Any legal weapon · Any elk · October 1 – October 5
By the first days of October the rut is winding down into its late rut and early post-rut phase, and mature bulls may be starting to pull away from cow groups and isolate while smaller satellite bulls can still linger with cows that are cycling again. Bulls coming off the rut can be worn down and battered, sometimes carrying broken points or beams, so a hunter looking at a bull up close should check its antlers carefully before deciding. The gentle, rolling terrain and open shrub and brush and grass and meadow cover at lower and mid elevations make it possible to glass long distances, while the timbered higher country offers secluded pockets where feeding, bedding, and water sit close together worth checking for a bull settling into solitude. This hunt is open to any legal weapon for any elk, runs October 1 through October 5 under hunt code ELK-1-392, and carries very long odds for residents and long odds for those applying with a registered outfitter.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,700–10,100 ft, typically around 6,000 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 86% gentle · 10% moderate · 4% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~270 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 brush68%
- Other cover21%
- Grass and meadow9%
- Riparian2%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush56%
- Grass and meadow31%
- Other cover7%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper6%
Higher elevations
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper62%
- Shrub and brush28%
- Grass and meadow5%
- Other cover3%
- Deciduous forest1%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 16% of Unit 14 is public land by ownership — National Forest, State Trust land, BLM and State Wildlife Management Area. Ownership is not the same as legal access: some parcels are closed or restricted.
- National Forest13%
- State Trust land3%
- BLM<1%
- State Wildlife Management Area<1%
- tribal land12%
- military land4%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private67%
Public land includes State Trust land (3% 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.
Tribal land requires the tribe's own permission and licence — a New Mexico elk licence is not valid there.
Military land is closed to hunting except where a specific hunt says otherwise.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 86°F, lows around 55°F
- September — highs around 80°F, lows around 48°F
- October — highs around 69°F, lows around 37°F, about 0.4 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 56°F, lows around 26°F, about 0.8 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 46°F, lows around 19°F, about 3.6 in of snowfall
Unit 14 elk hunting FAQ
Can a hunter get an elk licence for Unit 14 without going through the draw?
Yes. Besides the public draw hunt, landowners enrolled in the Elk Private Lands Use System issue their own authorizations that let a hunter buy a private-land elk licence as a separate route into the unit. Access rights under that route depend on the individual ranch and management zone.
How hard is it to draw the elk hunt in Unit 14, and does it depend on the pool?
Odds differ by pool. The October 1-5 any-legal-weapon, any-elk hunt (ELK-1-392) carries very long odds for resident applicants and long odds for applicants applying with a registered outfitter; no band is listed for nonresidents applying without an outfitter.
Can a nonresident hunt elk in Unit 14?
A nonresident can apply for the ELK-1-392 hunt either on their own or through a registered outfitter, since the outfitter pool is open to both residents and nonresidents. Nonresidents are only barred from hunts marked residents-only, such as antlerless elk or wildlife-management-area-only hunts, and none of those are listed for this unit's elk hunt.
Does New Mexico use preference points for elk the way some other states do?
No. New Mexico has no preference points or bonus points of any kind for elk. Every application receives a random sequence number each year, regardless of how many times someone has applied before.
Does the Unit 14 elk season fall during the rut?
The October 1-5 hunt falls in the late rut and early post-rut phase, when breeding is slowing and bulls may be beginning to isolate from cow groups. It is not an early-season hunt during peak breeding activity, but rather one that catches the tail end of rutting behavior.
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.