New Mexico Deer · GMU 20
New Mexico GMU 20 spans 1,631,871 acres, centered 15 miles east of Elephant Butte. 74% of it is public land, mostly BLM (51%) and state land (8%). In 2025, 1,583 people hunted deer here and took 297, a 19% success rate (sum of published weapon rows). Its most applied-for hunt, DER-1-216, put up 5 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 17 nonresident first-choice applicants, 4 of whom drew.
No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.
10 licenses · NR capped at 6%
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
68% BLM
1,631,871 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Every License in GMU 20
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| DER-1-216 Standard | Unit 20 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 7-11 | 24% | |
| DER-1-216 Outfitter | Unit 20 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 7-11 | 100% | |
| DER-1-217 Standard | Unit 20 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 14-18 | 25% | |
| DER-1-217 Outfitter | Unit 20 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 14-18 | 100% | |
| DER-2-218 Standard | Unit 20 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Sept. 1-24 | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-2-218 Outfitter | Unit 20 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Sept. 1-24 | not open | |
| DER-2-219 Standard | Unit 20 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Jan. 1-15, ‘27 | 12% (small sample) | |
| DER-2-219 Outfitter | Unit 20 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Jan. 1-15, ‘27 | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-3-220 Standard | Unit 20 — fork-antlered deer — Muzzle — Oct. 31-Nov.4 | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-3-220 Outfitter | Unit 20 — 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) | 1,583 | 297 | 19% |
| 2024 (summed) | 1,627 | 343 | 21% |
| 2023 (summed) | 1,565 | 305 | 19% |
| 2022 (summed) | 1,529 | 306 | 20% |
| 2021 (summed) | 1,499 | 237 | 16% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg · muzzleloader · 85 licenses | 68 | 11 | 16% |
| Reg · rifle · 14 licenses | 14 | 4 | 27% |
| Reg · rifle · 8 licenses | 7 | 4 | 60% |
| Reg · archery · 2 licenses | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| Reg · archery · 11 licenses | 9 | 0 | 0% |
| Reg · rifle · 425 licenses (hunt 1 of 2) | 363 | 94 | 26% |
| Reg · rifle · 425 licenses (hunt 2 of 2) | 354 | 61 | 17% |
| Youth | 88 | 24 | 27% |
| Reg · rifle · 25 licenses | 19 | 9 | 47% |
| Reg · archery · 300 licenses | 212 | 24 | 11% |
| Reg · archery · 200 licenses | 162 | 23 | 14% |
| Reg · muzzleloader · 350 licenses | 285 | 42 | 15% |
2025 split: muzzleloader 53 (18%) from 353 hunters, 15%, rifle 196 (66%) from 845 hunters, 23%, archery 48 (16%) from 385 hunters, 12%
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 | 824,237 ac | 51% |
| State land | 126,492 ac | 8% |
| Other public | 109,470 ac | 7% |
| State trust land | 100,271 ac | 6% |
| National Wildlife Refuge | 51,717 ac | 3% |
| Department of Defense | 1,393 ac | <1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 84 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 418,204 ac | 26% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 20: Beginning at the junction of US 70 and I-25 at Las Cruces and running north along I-25 to its junction with US 380 at San Antonio, then east along US 380 to a point due north of the northwestern corner of the White Sands Missile Range, then due south to the northwestern corner of the Missile Range, then south along the west boundary of the Missile Range to its intersection with US 70...
▸ 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