New Mexico Deer · GMU 54

New Mexico GMU 54 covers 220,069 acres and lies 13 miles east of Angel Fire and 31 miles east of Taos. 11% of it is public land, mostly state land (11%). In 2025, 128 people hunted deer here and took 78, a 61% success rate (sum of published weapon rows).

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

Tags, 2026
—

6 licenses · NR capped at 6%

Applicants
—

first choice, NR

Hunter Success
61%

2025, all licenses

Public Land
11%

100% State

Size
344 mi²

220,069 acres

Angel Fire Taos Questa 54
61%hunter success 2025 · 128 hunters, 78 deer

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

Every License in GMU 54

90–100% 50–89% 10–49% 1–9% under 1% fewer than 5 tags: one applicant swings it
DER-1-401 Standard not open
Outfitter not open
DER-1-402 Standard not open
Outfitter not open
DER-2-403 Standard not open
Outfitter 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) 128 78 61%
2024 (summed) 55 21 38%
2023 30 27 90%
2022 45 32 72%
2021 34 27 80%
2025 by LicenseHuntersDeerSuccess
Reg · rifle · 6 licenses 6 6 100%
Reg · archery · 1 license 1 1 100%
Reg · rifle · 11 licenses 10 6 63%
Reg · rifle · 37 licenses 35 28 77%
Youth 16 11 69%
Reg · rifle · 28 licenses 28 15 55%
Reg · archery · 14 licenses 14 6 44%
Reg · muzzleloader 0 — —
Reg · rifle · 5 licenses (hunt 1 of 4) 5 3 60%
Reg · rifle · 5 licenses (hunt 4 of 4) 3 0 0%
Reg · rifle · 5 licenses (hunt 2 of 4) 5 2 40%
Reg · rifle · 5 licenses (hunt 3 of 4) 5 0 0%

2025 split: rifle 71 (91%) from 113 hunters, 63%, archery 7 (9%) from 15 hunters, 47%, 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 land 23,185 ac 11%
State trust land 133 ac <1%
Private or other non-public land 196,750 ac 89%

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

What the Agency Says About the Area

GMU 54: Beginning at the intersection of the south boundary of the Maxwell grant and NM 434 and running north along NM 434 to its junction with US 64, then north and east along US 64 to its junction with NM 21 west of Cimarron then south and east along NM 21 to its junction with I-25 south of Springer, then south along I-25 to its intersection with the south boundary of the Maxwell grant, then...

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