New Mexico Deer · GMU 21
New Mexico GMU 21 spans 1,931,234 acres, centered 21 miles north-west of Hatch. 74% of it is public land, mostly BLM (37%) and state trust land (20%). In 2025, 1,620 people hunted deer here and took 320, a 20% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, DER-1-221, put up 26 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 89 nonresident first-choice applicants, 20 of whom drew.
No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.
14 licenses · NR capped at 6%
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
50% BLM
1,931,234 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Best Bets
Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2025. Nonresident, first choice, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
- Success
- 20%
- Season
- Nov 7–11
- Tags / Apps
- 42 / 25
- If Drawn
- $502
- Success
- 20%
- Season
- Nov 14–18
- Tags / Apps
- 26 / 24
- If Drawn
- $502
- Success
- 20%
- Season
- Nov 14–18
- Tags / Apps
- 34 / 23
- If Drawn
- $502
- Success
- 20%
- Season
- Sep 1–24
- Tags / Apps
- 39 / 10
- If Drawn
- $502
Every License in GMU 21
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| DER-1-221 Standard | Unit 21 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 7-11 | 22% | |
| DER-1-221 Outfitter | Unit 21 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 7-11 | 100% | |
| DER-1-222 Standard | Unit 21 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 14-18 | 100% | |
| DER-1-222 Outfitter | Unit 21 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 14-18 | 100% | |
| DER-1-223 Standard · youth | Unit 21: youth only — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal - Youth — Nov. 21-29 | 40% | |
| DER-1-223 Outfitter · youth | Unit 21: youth only — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal - Youth — Nov. 21-29 | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-1-227 Standard | Unit 21 — fork-antlered white-tailed deer — Any Legal — Dec. 5-13 | 0% (small sample) | |
| DER-1-227 Outfitter | Unit 21 — fork-antlered white-tailed deer — Any Legal — Dec. 5-13 | 11% (small sample) | |
| DER-2-224 Standard | Unit 21 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Sept. 1-24 | 100% | |
| DER-2-224 Outfitter | Unit 21 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Sept. 1-24 | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-2-225 Standard | Unit 21 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Jan. 1-15, ‘27 | 19% | |
| DER-2-225 Outfitter | Unit 21 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Jan. 1-15, ‘27 | 100% | |
| DER-3-226 Standard | Unit 21 — fork-antlered deer — Muzzle — Oct. 31-Nov.4 | 100% | |
| DER-3-226 Outfitter | Unit 21 — fork-antlered deer — Muzzle — Oct. 31-Nov.4 | 100% (small sample) |
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 | 1,620 | 320 | 20% |
| 2024 | 1,676 | 377 | 23% |
| 2023 | 1,606 | 334 | 21% |
| 2022 | 1,620 | 341 | 21% |
| 2021 | 1,678 | 304 | 18% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg · rifle · 69 licenses | 66 | 22 | 34% |
| Reg · rifle · 44 licenses | 44 | 13 | 30% |
| Youth · 7 licenses | 4 | 1 | 33% |
| Reg · rifle · 2 licenses | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Reg · archery · 1 license | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Reg · archery · 23 licenses | 22 | 11 | 50% |
| Reg · muzzleloader | 0 | — | — |
| Reg · rifle · 70 licenses (hunt 1 of 2) | 57 | 13 | 23% |
| Reg · rifle · 70 licenses (hunt 2 of 2) | 52 | 12 | 23% |
| Youth · 20 licenses | 18 | 11 | 59% |
| Reg · archery · 30 licenses | 22 | 4 | 17% |
| Reg · archery · 25 licenses | 23 | 5 | 24% |
2025 split: rifle 72 (78%) from 243 hunters, 30%, archery 20 (22%) from 68 hunters, 29%, muzzleloader 0 (0%)
What New Mexico Department of Game and Fish publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. Source: NMDGF 2025-2026 Deer Harvest Report; NMDGF 2024-2025 Deer Harvest Report; NMDGF 2023-2024 Deer Harvest Report.
The Ground
| BLM | 713,962 ac | 37% |
| State trust land | 395,618 ac | 20% |
| National Forest | 298,135 ac | 15% |
| State land | 18,520 ac | <1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 699 ac | <1% |
| Tribal | 29 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 504,268 ac | 26% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
▸ 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