New Mexico Deer · GMU 48

New Mexico GMU 48 covers 242,197 acres and lies 23 miles south-east of Angel Fire and 40 miles east of Taos. 31% of it is public land, mostly state trust land (29%) and state land (1%). In 2025, 338 people hunted deer here and took 165, a 49% success rate (sum of published weapon rows). Its most applied-for hunt, DER-1-379, put up 3 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 20 nonresident first-choice applicants, 3 of whom drew.

No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.

Tags, 2026
20

8 licenses · NR capped at 6%

Applicants
54

first choice, NR

Hunter Success
49%

2025, all licenses

Public Land
31%

99% State

Size
378 mi²

242,197 acres

Angel Fire Taos 48
49%hunter success 2025 · 338 hunters, 165 deer

Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.

Every License in GMU 48

90–100% 50–89% 10–49% 1–9% under 1% fewer than 5 tags: one applicant swings it
DER-1-379 Standard 15% (small sample)
Outfitter 100% (small sample)
DER-1-380 Standard 0% (small sample)
Outfitter not open
DER-2-381 Standard 25% (small sample)
Outfitter 100% (small sample)
DER-3-382 Standard 20% (small sample)
Outfitter 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 (summed) 338 165 49%
2024 (summed) 295 122 41%
2023 (summed) 291 138 47%
2022 (summed) 258 122 47%
2021 (summed) 269 84 31%
2025 by LicenseHuntersDeerSuccess
Reg · muzzleloader 26 18 68%
Reg · rifle · 10 licenses 10 6 60%
Reg · rifle · 16 licenses 13 3 25%
Reg · archery · 5 licenses 3 2 50%
Reg · rifle · 100 licenses (hunt 1 of 2) 96 48 50%
Reg · rifle · 100 licenses (hunt 2 of 2) 96 53 55%
Reg · archery · 105 licenses 94 35 37%

2025 split: muzzleloader 18 (11%) from 26 hunters, 69%, rifle 110 (67%) from 215 hunters, 51%, archery 37 (22%) from 97 hunters, 38%

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 71,423 ac 29%
State land 2,955 ac 1%
BLM 759 ac <1%
Private or other non-public land 167,058 ac 69%

Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.

What the Agency Says About the Area

GMU 48: Beginning at the intersection of I-25 and NM 120 at Wagon Mound, then northwest along NM 120 to its intersection with the south boundary of the Maxwell Grant, then east along the south boundary of the Maxwell Grant to its intersection with I-25, then south along I-25 to its intersection with NM 120 at Wagon Mound.

Source: NMDGF 2026 NM Game Management Units, layer 0.

▸ Sources 10
  1. NMDGF 2026 Big Game Drawing Odds Complete Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  2. NMDGF 2026-2027 Draw Hunt License Fees / Draw… fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  3. NMDGF 2026-2027 Over-the-Counter License Fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  4. NMDGF 2025-2026 Deer Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  5. NMDGF 2024-2025 Deer Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  6. NMDGF 2023-2024 Deer Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  7. NMDGF 2022-2023 Deer Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  8. NMDGF 2021-2022 Deer Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  9. NMDGF 2026 NM Game Management Units, layer 0 boundary, area description, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  10. 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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Every report is checked against the agency source before we change anything.

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