New Mexico Deer · GMU 9
New Mexico GMU 9 spans 2,129,765 acres, centered 31 miles west of Rio Rancho. 27% of it is public land, mostly BLM (11%) and national forest (9%). A further 29% is tribal land rather than public land. In 2025, 468 people hunted deer here and took 113, a 24% success rate (sum of published weapon rows). Its most applied-for hunt, DER-1-164, put up 1 tag (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 5 nonresident first-choice applicants.
No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.
12 licenses · NR capped at 6%
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
20% BLM
2,129,765 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Every License in GMU 9
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| DER-1-164 Standard | Unit 9, including Water Canyon WMA — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 14-18 | 0% (small sample) | |
| DER-1-164 Outfitter | Unit 9, including Water Canyon WMA — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 14-18 | 50% (small sample) | |
| DER-1-165 Standard | Unit 9: Marquez/LBar WMAs only — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 14-18 | not open | |
| DER-1-165 Outfitter | Unit 9: Marquez/LBar WMAs only — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal — Nov. 14-18 | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-1-166 Standard · youth | Unit 9, including Water Canyon WMA: youth only — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal - Youth… | not open | |
| DER-1-166 Outfitter · youth | Unit 9, including Water Canyon WMA: youth only — fork-antlered deer — Any Legal - Youth… | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-2-167 Standard | Unit 9, including Water Canyon WMA — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Sept. 1-24 | not open | |
| DER-2-167 Outfitter | Unit 9, including Water Canyon WMA — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Sept. 1-24 | not open | |
| DER-2-168 Standard | Unit 9, including Water Canyon WMA — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Jan. 1-15, ‘27 | 25% (small sample) | |
| DER-2-168 Outfitter | Unit 9, including Water Canyon WMA — fork-antlered deer — Bow — Jan. 1-15, ‘27 | 100% (small sample) | |
| DER-3-169 Standard | Unit 9, including Water Canyon WMA: restricted muzzleloader only — fork-antlered deer… | not open | |
| DER-3-169 Outfitter | Unit 9, including Water Canyon WMA: restricted muzzleloader only — fork-antlered deer… | 20% (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) | 468 | 113 | 24% |
| 2024 (summed) | 373 | 76 | 20% |
| 2023 (summed) | 380 | 92 | 24% |
| 2022 (summed) | 377 | 85 | 23% |
| 2021 (summed) | 455 | 99 | 22% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg · muzzleloader · 10 licenses | 10 | 4 | 43% |
| Reg · rifle · 29 licenses | 26 | 11 | 43% |
| Youth · 9 licenses | 8 | 3 | 43% |
| Reg · archery · 8 licenses | 7 | 3 | 50% |
| Mip | 18 | 7 | 41% |
| Reg · rifle · 70 licenses | 60 | 7 | 12% |
| Reg · rifle · 65 licenses | 60 | 21 | 34% |
| Reg · rifle · 90 licenses | 84 | 11 | 13% |
| Youth · 25 licenses | 23 | 8 | 33% |
| Reg · archery · 100 licenses | 91 | 15 | 17% |
| Reg · muzzleloader · 90 licenses | 81 | 23 | 29% |
2025 split: muzzleloader 27 (24%) from 91 hunters, 30%, rifle 68 (60%) from 279 hunters, 24%, archery 18 (16%) from 98 hunters, 18%
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
| Tribal | 612,891 ac | 29% |
| BLM | 233,825 ac | 11% |
| National Forest | 185,428 ac | 9% |
| State trust land | 85,523 ac | 4% |
| State land | 71,577 ac | 3% |
| National Park Service | 7,100 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 933,419 ac | 44% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 9: Beginning at Prewitt at the junction of I-40 and CR 19 (the road to Hospah) and running north along the CR 19 to its intersection with Inditos draw, then south and east down Inditos draw to its junction with Voght draw, then east down Voght draw to its junction with arroyo Chico, then east down arroyo Chico to its intersection with the BLM road 1103 (the San Luis road, leading from...
▸ 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