New Mexico Deer · GMU 31
New Mexico GMU 31 spans 5,342,573 acres, centered 12 miles west of Lovington. 57% of it is public land, mostly state trust land (31%) and BLM (25%). In 2025, 1,697 people hunted deer here and took 530, a 31% success rate (sum of published weapon rows). Its most applied-for hunt, DER-1-300, put up 26 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 169 nonresident first-choice applicants, 17 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
55% State
5,342,573 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
- 31%
- Season
- Nov 7–11
- Tags / Apps
- 44 / 59
- If Drawn
- $502
- Success
- 31%
- Season
- Nov 21–25
- Tags / Apps
- 43 / 45
- If Drawn
- $502
- Success
- 31%
- Season
- Sep 1–24
- Tags / Apps
- 44 / 19
- If Drawn
- $502
- Success
- 31%
- Season
- Oct 24–28
- Tags / Apps
- 11 / 9
- If Drawn
- $502
Every License in GMU 31
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| DER-1-300 Standard | Unit 31, including Prairie Chicken WMAs — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 7-11 | 10% | |
| DER-1-300 Outfitter | Unit 31, including Prairie Chicken WMAs — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 7-11 | 44% | |
| DER-1-301 Standard | Unit 31, including Prairie Chicken WMAs — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 21-25 | 20% | |
| DER-1-301 Outfitter | Unit 31, including Prairie Chicken WMAs — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 21-25 | 56% | |
| DER-2-302 Standard | Unit 31, including Prairie Chicken WMAs — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Sept. 1-24 | 100% | |
| DER-2-302 Outfitter | Unit 31, including Prairie Chicken WMAs — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Sept. 1-24 | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-2-303 Standard | Unit 31, including Prairie Chicken WMAs — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Jan. 1-15, ‘27 | 12% | |
| DER-2-303 Outfitter | Unit 31, including Prairie Chicken WMAs — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Jan. 1-15, ‘27 | 13% | |
| DER-3-304 Standard | Unit 31, including Prairie Chicken WMAs — fork-antlered deer — Muzzle — Oct. 24-28 | 100% | |
| DER-3-304 Outfitter | Unit 31, including Prairie Chicken WMAs — fork-antlered deer — Muzzle — Oct. 24-28 | 100% |
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) | 1,697 | 530 | 31% |
| 2024 | 1,501 | 600 | 39% |
| 2023 (summed) | 1,687 | 602 | 36% |
| 2022 | 1,553 | 520 | 33% |
| 2021 | 1,610 | 480 | 30% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg · rifle · 104 licenses | 99 | 59 | 59% |
| Reg · rifle · 171 licenses | 160 | 73 | 46% |
| Reg · archery · 5 licenses | 5 | 5 | 100% |
| Reg · archery · 59 licenses | 50 | 15 | 31% |
| Reg · muzzleloader · 6 licenses | 6 | 3 | 50% |
| Reg · rifle · 565 licenses | 505 | 154 | 31% |
| Reg · rifle · 560 licenses | 495 | 143 | 29% |
| Reg · rifle · 15 licenses (hunt 1 of 2) | 14 | 11 | 80% |
| Reg · rifle · 15 licenses (hunt 2 of 2) | 10 | 6 | 56% |
| Reg · archery · 150 licenses | 117 | 9 | 7% |
| Reg · archery · 100 licenses | 85 | 24 | 28% |
| Reg · muzzleloader · 174 licenses | 151 | 28 | 18% |
2025 split: rifle 446 (84%) from 1,283 hunters, 35%, archery 53 (10%) from 257 hunters, 21%, muzzleloader 31 (6%) from 157 hunters, 20%
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
| State trust land | 1,657,106 ac | 31% |
| BLM | 1,326,880 ac | 25% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 40,006 ac | <1% |
| State land | 35,778 ac | <1% |
| Department of Defense | 3,502 ac | <1% |
| National Wildlife Refuge | 3,250 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 2,276,047 ac | 43% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 31: Beginning at the intersection of the NM-TX state line and US 180, southwest of Carlsbad, and running northeast along US 180 to its junction with US 285 at Carlsbad, then north along US 285 to its intersection with US 82 at Artesia, then east along US 82 to its junction with NM 249 at Maljamar, then north along NM 249 to its junction with NM 172, then north along NM 172 to its junction...
▸ 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.
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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 · All New Mexico deer hunts