New Mexico Deer · GMU 36
New Mexico GMU 36 covers 635,192 acres and lies 3 miles north-west of Ruidoso and 13 miles south-west of Capitan. 61% of it is public land, mostly national forest (24%) and state trust land (23%). In 2025, 1,079 people hunted deer here and took 337, a 31% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, DER-1-326, put up 18 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 102 nonresident first-choice applicants, 13 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
39% Forest Service
635,192 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
- 30 / 23
- If Drawn
- $502
- Success
- 31%
- Season
- Nov 14–18
- Tags / Apps
- 15 / 9
- If Drawn
- $502
- Success
- 31%
- Season
- Sep 1–24
- Tags / Apps
- 10 / 8
- If Drawn
- $502
- Success
- 31%
- Season
- Jan 1–15
- Tags / Apps
- 12 / 13
- If Drawn
- $502
Every License in GMU 36
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| DER-1-326 Standard | Unit 36 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 7-11 | 13% | |
| DER-1-326 Outfitter | Unit 36 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 7-11 | 100% | |
| DER-1-327 Standard | Unit 36 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 14-18 | 23% | |
| DER-1-327 Outfitter | Unit 36 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 14-18 | 100% | |
| DER-1-328 Standard · youth | Unit 36: youth only — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 21-29 | 0% (small sample) | |
| DER-1-328 Outfitter · youth | Unit 36: youth only — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 21-29 | 14% (small sample) | |
| DER-2-329 Standard | Unit 36 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Sept. 1-24 | 23% | |
| DER-2-329 Outfitter | Unit 36 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Sept. 1-24 | 100% | |
| DER-2-330 Standard | Unit 36 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Jan. 1-15, ‘27 | 14% | |
| DER-2-330 Outfitter | Unit 36 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Jan. 1-15, ‘27 | 54% | |
| DER-3-331 Standard | Unit 36 — fork-antlered deer — Muzzle — Oct. 24-28 | 13% | |
| DER-3-331 Outfitter | Unit 36 — fork-antlered deer — Muzzle — Oct. 24-28 | 100% | |
| DER-3-332 Standard · youth | Unit 36: youth only — fork-antlered deer — Muzzle - Youth — Oct. 24-28 | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-3-332 Outfitter · youth | Unit 36: youth only — fork-antlered deer — Muzzle - Youth — Oct. 24-28 | 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 | 1,079 | 337 | 31% |
| 2024 | 1,052 | 329 | 31% |
| 2023 | 1,064 | 363 | 34% |
| 2022 | 1,050 | 340 | 32% |
| 2021 | 1,032 | 309 | 30% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youth · muzzleloader | 20 | 2 | 11% |
| Reg · rifle · 40 licenses | 37 | 22 | 59% |
| Reg · rifle · 35 licenses | 31 | 14 | 46% |
| Youth · rifle | 9 | 6 | 63% |
| Reg · archery · 13 licenses | 13 | 9 | 67% |
| Reg · archery · 25 licenses | 23 | 19 | 80% |
| Reg · muzzleloader · 1 license | 0 | — | — |
| Reg · rifle · 365 licenses | 319 | 55 | 17% |
| Reg · rifle · 360 licenses | 320 | 48 | 15% |
| Reg · archery · 100 licenses | 80 | 12 | 15% |
| Reg · archery · 80 licenses | 73 | 24 | 33% |
| Reg · muzzleloader · 125 licenses | 108 | 19 | 18% |
2025 split: muzzleloader 21 (9%) from 128 hunters, 16%, rifle 145 (63%) from 716 hunters, 20%, archery 64 (28%) from 189 hunters, 34%
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
| National Forest | 151,902 ac | 24% |
| State trust land | 145,757 ac | 23% |
| BLM | 90,380 ac | 14% |
| State land | 1,327 ac | <1% |
| Tribal | 63 ac | <1% |
| Department of Defense | 0 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 245,760 ac | 39% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 36: Beginning at the junction of Otero county road B006 and the east boundary of the White Sands missile range at Tularosa gate and running north along the east boundary to its intersection with the Lincoln-Otero county line, then east along the county line to its intersection with US 54, then north along US 54 to its intersection with US 380 at Carrizozo, then east along US 380 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