New Mexico Deer · GMU 40
New Mexico GMU 40 spans 2,416,580 acres, centered 26 miles south of Tucumcari. 14% of it is public land, mostly state trust land (13%). In 2025, 320 people hunted deer here and took 158, a 49% success rate (sum of published weapon rows). Its most applied-for hunt, DER-1-348, put up 3 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 7 nonresident first-choice applicants, 3 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
98% State
2,416,580 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Every License in GMU 40
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| DER-1-348 Standard | Unit 40 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 7-11 | 43% (small sample) | |
| DER-1-348 Outfitter | Unit 40 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 7-11 | not open | |
| DER-1-349 Standard | Unit 40 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 21-25 | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-1-349 Outfitter | Unit 40 — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 21-25 | not open | |
| DER-2-350 Standard | Unit 40 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Sept. 1-24 | not open | |
| DER-2-350 Outfitter | Unit 40 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Sept. 1-24 | not open | |
| DER-2-351 Standard | Unit 40 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Jan. 1-15, ‘27 | 25% (small sample) | |
| DER-2-351 Outfitter | Unit 40 — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Jan. 1-15, ‘27 | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-3-352 Standard | Unit 40 — fork-antlered deer — Muzzle — Oct. 24-28 | not open | |
| DER-3-352 Outfitter | Unit 40 — 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 (summed) | 320 | 158 | 49% |
| 2024 (summed) | 343 | 144 | 42% |
| 2023 (summed) | 349 | 146 | 42% |
| 2022 | 359 | 139 | 38% |
| 2021 (summed) | 372 | 173 | 47% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg · rifle · 82 licenses | 79 | 57 | 72% |
| Reg · rifle · 122 licenses | 114 | 56 | 49% |
| Reg · archery · 1 license | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Reg · archery · 15 licenses | 14 | 4 | 31% |
| Reg · muzzleloader | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Reg · rifle · 40 licenses (hunt 2 of 2) | 31 | 14 | 46% |
| Reg · rifle · 40 licenses (hunt 1 of 2) | 38 | 13 | 34% |
| Youth · 5 licenses | 5 | 4 | 80% |
| Youth · 15 licenses | 11 | 2 | 20% |
| Reg · rifle · 10 licenses | 9 | 1 | 13% |
| Reg · archery · 10 licenses (hunt 2 of 2) | 8 | 3 | 38% |
| Reg · archery · 10 licenses (hunt 1 of 2) | 9 | 4 | 50% |
2025 split: rifle 147 (93%) from 287 hunters, 51%, archery 11 (7%) from 32 hunters, 34%, 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. 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 | 319,439 ac | 13% |
| BLM | 5,446 ac | <1% |
| State land | 1,419 ac | <1% |
| Department of Defense | 263 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 2,090,010 ac | 86% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 40: Beginning at the junction of US 84 and I-40 east of Santa Rosa and running east along I-40 to the NM/TX state line, then south along the state line to its intersection with US 84, then west and north along US 84 to its junction with I-40.
▸ 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