Unit 57 Elk Hunting, New Mexico
New Mexico hunting unit · 429 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. Some hunts here are for New Mexico residents only; a nonresident is not eligible for them.
What hunting Unit 57 is like
Unit 57 is gentle and rolling country, with mean slope around 8 degrees and almost none of the ground qualifying as steep or rugged. Elevation runs from about 6,000 feet up to roughly 8,900 feet, and cover shifts with that climb: lower elevations mix shrub and brush with grass and meadow and pockets of conifer and pinyon-juniper, while the higher country is dominated by shrub and brush with smaller shares of timber and deciduous forest. It is foot-hunting country for the most part, open enough to glass but demanding enough on the legs that covering it well still takes time.
Only about 15% of Unit 57 is public land by ownership, all of it State Trust land, and a hunter may use State Trust land only during their own hunt, plus up to seven days of scouting beforehand, entering by public or established roads; some parcels are withdrawn, so it pays to check the access map before setting a plan. Private land makes up roughly 84% of the unit and requires written permission to hunt, with a small unclassified sliver rounding out the rest. The draw hunts listed here require an application, but landowners in the Elk Private Lands Use System separately issue authorizations that let a hunter buy a private-land elk licence as another route onto the unit.
Every hunt with a draw band is filled through a random draw: each application gets a random sequence number, and the computer works through applications in that order, checking that applicant's first, second, and third choices before moving to the next applicant. Because of that order, an earlier-sequenced applicant's second or third choice can be awarded before a later-sequenced applicant's first choice is ever considered. New Mexico has no points system for elk at all, so there is nothing to build or hold from one season to the next — every application stands on its own in the random draw.
Elk hunts in Unit 57 (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery ELK-2-418 Sugarite canyon state park only | September 1 – September 14 | Any elk | Fair odds | — | — | Rut Onset, Primary Rut |
| Archery ELK-2-420 Excluding Sugarite Canyon State Park; Also valid in Unit 58 | September 1 – September 14 | Any elk | — | — | — | Rut Onset, Primary Rut |
| Archery ELK-2-419 Sugarite canyon state park only | September 15 – September 24 | Any elk | Long odds | — | — | Primary Rut |
| Archery ELK-2-421 Excluding Sugarite Canyon State Park; Also valid in Unit 58 | September 15 – September 24 | Any elk | Fair odds | — | — | Primary Rut |
| Any legal weapon ELK-1-422 Excluding Sugarite Canyon State Park; Also valid in Unit 58 | October 1 – October 5 | Mature bull | Very long odds | Very long odds | — | Late Rut / Early Post-Rut |
| Any legal weapon ELK-1-423 Excluding Sugarite Canyon State Park; Also valid in Unit 58 | October 17 – October 21 | Mature bull | Very long odds | — | — | Post-Rut Recovery |
| Any legal weapon ELK-1-424 Excluding Sugarite Canyon State Park; Also valid in Unit 58 | December 12 – December 16 | Antlerless elk | Fair odds | Residents only | Residents only | Winter Range |
"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 · Any elk · September 1 – September 14
The first half of September finds elk moving through the rut onset and into the primary rut phase, with breeding activity beginning to take hold inside Sugarite Canyon State Park. Archers hunting this stretch work the park's gentle, rolling ground and whatever mix of shrub and brush, grass and meadow, and timber holds elk at the elevation they're hunting. The hunt is open to any elk, so either sex can be taken, and residents draw this hunt under Fair odds.
Archery · Any elk · September 1 – September 14
Outside the park during this same window, elk are moving from rut onset into the primary rut phase, with breeding behavior starting to show. The broader unit gives archers more open, rolling ground to search across the elevation bands, from shrub and brush and grass and meadow lower down to timber and brush higher up. Any elk is legal here, and this hunt is also valid in Unit 58, widening the ground available to a hunter who draws it.
Archery · Any elk · September 15 – September 24
By the second half of September the park is fully into the primary rut phase, with breeding activity centered and elk behavior keyed to that. Archers working Sugarite Canyon State Park in this window should expect pressure and a tighter area to hunt than the broader unit offers, and residents face Long odds in the draw for this hunt. Any elk may be taken, so a hunter can fill the tag with either sex encountered in the park's gentle terrain.
Archery · Any elk · September 15 – September 24
The same late-September dates outside the park fall in the primary rut phase as well, with elk activity centered on breeding. The State Trust land here can be used only during a hunter's own hunt, plus up to seven days of scouting beforehand, which matters on a unit where private land dominates the rest of the ground; the wider, rolling landscape beyond the park still gives archers more country to search through shrub and brush, grass and meadow, and timber at different elevations. Any elk is legal, this hunt also carries into Unit 58, and residents draw it under Fair odds.
Any legal weapon · Mature bull · October 1 – October 5
Early October lands in the late rut and early post-rut phase, when mature bulls may begin pulling away from cow groups to isolate while smaller satellite bulls often stay behind and keep breeding. Bulls coming off the rut can be worn down and carrying broken points or beams, so it pays to glass carefully before committing to a stalk. Hunters should look for secluded pockets across the unit's gentle terrain where feeding, bedding, and water sit close together, working the mix of shrub and brush and timber found at the elevation being hunted. Only a mature bull is legal here, this hunt also applies in Unit 58, and both residents and nonresidents without an outfitter face Very long odds.
Any legal weapon · Mature bull · October 17 – October 21
By mid-to-late October elk have settled into the post-rut recovery phase, and bulls recovering from the rut tend to hole up in secluded areas where they can meet their needs without traveling far, making them act more like mule deer than rutting elk. The approach here is to glass feeding openings early and late, then spend slower daylight hours walking likely ground for tracks and droppings. Once sign shows elk are using an area, the better move is to stay patient and keep hunting it rather than pushing on to new country. Only a mature bull is legal, this hunt is also valid in Unit 58, and residents face Very long odds in the draw.
Any legal weapon · Antlerless elk · December 12 – December 16
Mid-December hunting falls in the winter range phase, when elk may be concentrated on wintering ground that sees repeated use year after year. With December snowfall averaging around 5.1 inches and lows near 16°F, a hunter who finds substantial accumulation should look lower, while elk may still be found higher in milder stretches; either way, historical sign is the place to start narrowing the search for current activity. This hunt is antlerless only, so the legal animal is a cow or calf elk, and it is open to residents only, with nonresidents ineligible to apply. Patience pays here: once fresh tracks, droppings, or sightings turn up, stay in that area rather than moving on, and residents face Fair odds in the draw.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 6,000–8,900 ft, typically around 7,200 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 70% gentle · 26% moderate · 3% steep · 0% rugged
- Public land by ownership
- ~64 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 brush39%
- Grass and meadow33%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper23%
- Other cover3%
- Riparian2%
Mid elevations
- Shrub and brush47%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper30%
- Grass and meadow18%
- Deciduous forest4%
Higher elevations
- Shrub and brush58%
- Grass and meadow24%
- Conifer and pinyon-juniper10%
- Deciduous forest6%
- Riparian2%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 15% of Unit 57 is public land by ownership — State Trust land. Ownership is not the same as legal access: some parcels are closed or restricted.
- State Trust land15%
- Unclassified ownership2%
- Private84%
Public land includes State Trust land (15% 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 78°F, lows around 52°F
- September — highs around 73°F, lows around 45°F
- October — highs around 63°F, lows around 34°F, about 0.8 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 52°F, lows around 24°F, about 1.8 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 43°F, lows around 16°F, about 5.1 in of snowfall
Unit 57 elk hunting FAQ
How does a hunter get an elk licence for Unit 57?
A hunter applies for one of the specific public draw hunts by hunt code, such as the archery any-elk hunts or the mature-bull hunts listed for the unit. Separately, landowners enrolled in the Elk Private Lands Use System issue authorizations that let a hunter buy a private-land elk licence, which is a different licensing route from the draw. There is no points system to build toward either route; every application is judged on its own in the random draw.
How hard are the hunts in Unit 57 to draw, and does it differ by pool?
Bands vary a lot by hunt: the early-September any-elk archery hunts show Fair odds for residents, the late-September park-only archery hunt drops to Long odds, and both mature-bull hunts in October sit at Very long odds. The antlerless hunt in December shows Fair odds for residents but is closed to nonresidents entirely. Odds are given only in words, never as a number, and they apply per application rather than per person.
Can a nonresident hunt every hunt in Unit 57?
No. Nonresidents may apply for the archery any-elk hunts and the two any-legal-weapon mature-bull hunts, but the antlerless elk hunt in December is open to residents only and a nonresident cannot apply for it through the draw. The outfitter-pool option is open to both residents and nonresidents, not just nonresidents, for the hunts where it applies.
Does New Mexico have points for elk in Unit 57?
No. New Mexico has no preference points or bonus points for elk, so there is nothing to accumulate from one year to the next. Every application for Unit 57 is entered fresh into the random draw regardless of past attempts.
Which seasons here fall in the rut, and how much of the unit is public land?
Both archery any-elk hunts in September and the early-October mature-bull hunt fall within the rut-onset, primary-rut, or late-rut/early-post-rut phases, while the late-October mature-bull hunt and the December antlerless hunt fall outside the rut. About 15% of Unit 57 is public land, all State Trust land usable only during a hunter's own hunt plus up to seven days of scouting beforehand, with roughly 84% private land requiring written permission and a small unclassified share besides.
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.