New Mexico Deer · GMU 12
New Mexico GMU 12 spans 1,657,794 acres, centered 55 miles south-west of Milan. 41% of it is public land, mostly BLM (23%) and state trust land (18%). In 2025, 511 people hunted deer here and took 127, a 25% success rate (sum of published weapon rows). Its most applied-for hunt, DER-1-177, put up 5 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 29 nonresident first-choice applicants, 3 of whom drew.
No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.
6 licenses · NR capped at 6%
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
45% BLM
1,657,794 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Every License in GMU 12
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| DER-1-177 Standard | Unit 12 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 7-11 | 10% | |
| DER-1-177 Outfitter | Unit 12 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 7-11 | 100% | |
| DER-2-178 Standard | Unit 12 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Sept. 1-24 | 20% (small sample) | |
| DER-2-178 Outfitter | Unit 12 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Sept. 1-24 | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-3-179 Standard | Unit 12 — fork-antlered deer — Muzzle — Oct. 31-Nov.4 | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-3-179 Outfitter | Unit 12 — fork-antlered deer — Muzzle — Oct. 31-Nov.4 | not open |
First-choice nonresident odds, 2026 draw. No points in this draw: every applicant has the same chance.
Draw results: NMDGF 2026 Big Game Drawing Odds Complete Report, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.
If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): Standard $502 ($492 to apply) · Outfitter $502 ($492 to apply). Closes Mar 17, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
| Year | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 (summed) | 511 | 127 | 25% |
| 2024 (summed) | 694 | 130 | 19% |
| 2023 (summed) | 517 | 99 | 19% |
| 2022 (summed) | 687 | 119 | 17% |
| 2021 (summed) | 537 | 96 | 18% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg · rifle · 36 licenses | 33 | 18 | 54% |
| Reg · archery · 22 licenses | 17 | 3 | 20% |
| Reg · muzzleloader | 4 | 1 | 33% |
| Reg · rifle · 149 licenses | 135 | 47 | 35% |
| Reg · rifle · 150 licenses | 125 | 24 | 19% |
| Youth | 45 | 13 | 29% |
| Reg · archery · 125 licenses | 96 | 11 | 12% |
| Reg · archery · 75 licenses | 56 | 10 | 18% |
2025 split: rifle 102 (80%) from 338 hunters, 30%, archery 24 (19%) from 169 hunters, 14%, muzzleloader 1 (1%)
What New Mexico Department of Game and Fish publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish publishes no whole-GMU line for 2025; a year's total is the sum of published weapon rows, added only where the lines do not overlap. Source: NMDGF 2025-2026 Deer Harvest Report; NMDGF 2024-2025 Deer Harvest Report; NMDGF 2023-2024 Deer Harvest Report.
The Ground
| BLM | 373,059 ac | 23% |
| State trust land | 302,622 ac | 18% |
| Tribal | 145,568 ac | 9% |
| National Park Service | 1,607 ac | <1% |
| State land | 169 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 834,767 ac | 50% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 12: Beginning at the intersection of US 60 and the NM/AZ state line and running north along the state line to the south boundary of the Zuni Indian Reservation, then east along the south boundary of the reservation and north along its east boundary to its intersection with NM 53, then east along NM 53 to its junction with Cibola County Road 42, then south along Cibola County Road 42 to its...
▸ Sources 10
- NMDGF 2026 Big Game Drawing Odds Complete Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- NMDGF 2026-2027 Draw Hunt License Fees / Draw… fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- NMDGF 2026-2027 Over-the-Counter License Fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- NMDGF 2025-2026 Deer Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- NMDGF 2024-2025 Deer Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- NMDGF 2023-2024 Deer Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- NMDGF 2022-2023 Deer Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- NMDGF 2021-2022 Deer Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- NMDGF 2026 NM Game Management Units, layer 0 boundary, area description, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023 land ownership, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2026 draw, the latest on file, computed from New Mexico Department of Game and Fish's published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.
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We don't take applications: check New Mexico Department of Game and Fish's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from New Mexico Department of Game and Fish's results, not a forecast · Methodology · All New Mexico deer hunts