New Mexico Deer · GMU 38
New Mexico GMU 38 spans 2,084,552 acres, centered 46 miles south-east of Estancia. 44% of it is public land, mostly state trust land (25%) and BLM (14%). In 2025, 486 people hunted deer here and took 74, a 15% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, DER-1-339, put up 9 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 9 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
58% State
2,084,552 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.
Every License in GMU 38
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| DER-1-338 Standard | Unit 38 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 7-11 | 100% | |
| DER-1-338 Outfitter | Unit 38 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 7-11 | 100% | |
| DER-1-339 Standard | Unit 38 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 21-25 | 100% | |
| DER-1-339 Outfitter | Unit 38 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 21-25 | 100% | |
| DER-2-340 Standard | Unit 38 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Sept. 1-24 | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-2-340 Outfitter | Unit 38 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Sept. 1-24 | not open | |
| DER-2-341 Standard | Unit 38 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Jan. 1-15, ‘27 | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-2-341 Outfitter | Unit 38 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Jan. 1-15, ‘27 | not open | |
| DER-3-342 Standard | Unit 38 — fork-antlered deer — Muzzle — Oct. 24-28 | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-3-342 Outfitter | Unit 38 — fork-antlered deer — Muzzle — 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 | 486 | 74 | 15% |
| 2024 | 456 | 78 | 17% |
| 2023 | 505 | 86 | 17% |
| 2022 | 563 | 83 | 15% |
| 2021 | 563 | 79 | 14% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg · rifle · 31 licenses | 28 | 7 | 26% |
| Reg · rifle · 8 licenses | 8 | 3 | 33% |
| Reg · archery · 2 licenses | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| Reg · archery · 12 licenses | 9 | 5 | 56% |
| Reg · muzzleloader · 1 license | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Reg · rifle · 35 licenses (hunt 1 of 2) | 34 | 16 | 48% |
| Reg · rifle · 35 licenses (hunt 2 of 2) | 34 | 7 | 21% |
| Reg · archery · 25 licenses | 21 | 4 | 17% |
| Reg · archery · 15 licenses | 14 | 4 | 27% |
| Reg · muzzleloader · 40 licenses | 26 | 2 | 9% |
2025 split: rifle 33 (65%) from 104 hunters, 32%, archery 15 (29%) from 46 hunters, 33%, muzzleloader 3 (6%) from 27 hunters, 11%
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
| State trust land | 529,727 ac | 25% |
| BLM | 285,954 ac | 14% |
| National Forest | 94,723 ac | 5% |
| State land | 1,714 ac | <1% |
| National Park Service | 19 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 1,172,412 ac | 56% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 38: Beginning at the junction of US 54 and NM 55 and running northwesterly along NM 55 to its junction with US 60 at Mountainair, then east along US 60 to the Guadalupe-De Baca county line, then south along the county line and along the east boundary of Lincoln County to its intersection with Hasparos Canyon, then west up Hasparos Canyon to the Southern Pacifi c Railroad tracks northeast...
▸ 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