New Mexico Elk ELK-1-278 — GMU 16A

Unit 16A — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 12-16

GMU 16A within New Mexico

What you may take: Unit 16A — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 12-16
Weapon: Rifle
Where: GMU 16A; 99% public of 412,289 acres
Season (2026): Dec 12–16, 2026
Tags (2026): 0; for 0 first-choice applicants · nonresidents capped at 6%
Hunter success here (2025): 48%; of everyone who hunted the area

Showing nonresident results (Standard class). Switch to resident · Standard Outfitter

Not open to nonresidents in 2026

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish issued no nonresident tags for this hunt in 2026 and took no nonresident applications for it.

What it costs (2026 nonresident fees)

Cash to apply

$867

Out of pocket if unsuccessful

$107

Total if drawn

$877

Refunded if unsuccessful

$760

Nonresident draw application fee (per species, nonrefundable; included in the printed draw price) · paid at application $13 source

Nonresident Game-Hunting License (must be purchased, nonrefundable, before applying for any big-game draw) · paid at application $90 source

Habitat Management and Access Validation (HMAV), mandatory age 18+, added automatically with the Game-Hunting License · paid at application $4 source

Habitat Stamp (required to hunt on BLM and Forest Service land; buy by May 15 to be printed on the licence/tag) · paid if drawn $10 source

Nonresident Standard Elk License, mature bull or either sex (printed draw price $773 incl. $13 application fee); charged at application, refunded if unsuccessful. Quality / high-demand hunt codes are $998 printed · paid at application, refundable $760 source

Next application window: closes Mar 18, 2027 (expected) · results ~April 22. Last cycle's schedule rolled forward — confirm when the agency publishes.

Point creep & years to draw

No points in this draw — every applicant has the same chance each year, so there is no cut to creep and nothing to build toward.

Seasons (2026)

Split 1: Dec 12–16, 2026 p. sheet1 row 612

How this tag has hunted

Across every license type in GMU 16A, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish counted 858 hunters and 304 elk taken in 2025 — 48% of them killed something. Full GMU 16A profile: maps, public land, five years of harvest →

Post-season survey, not draw statistics. Source: 2025-2026 Elk Harvest Report 2024-2025 Elk Harvest Report

Year by year

The standard draw for nonresidents, one row per year.

Year	Applicants per tag	Points needed	Source
2026	—	—	2026 Big Game Drawing Odds... · sheet1 row 612
2025	—	—	2025-26 Big-Game Drawing Odds... · sheet1 row 614
2024	—	—	2024-25 Big-Game Drawing Odds... · sheet1 row 623
2023	—	—	2023 Big-Game Complete Drawing... · sheet1 row 622

Other licenses valid in GMU 16A

Quality high demand — Unit 16A mobility impaired only — mature bull — Any Legal - Mobility — Oct. 10-14 Rifle Quality high demand — Unit 16A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 Rifle High demand — Unit 16A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 Rifle ELK-1-277 — Unit 16A — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 5-9 Rifle High demand — Unit 16A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 Archery Quality high demand — Unit 16A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 Archery

Legal cartridges for elk in New Mexico

From the New Mexico hunting laws rules on file for a rifle. "Depends" means the rule turns on your specific load — check the state page.

.22-250 Remington

.223 Remington from $0.42/rd

.243 Winchester from $1.11/rd

.25-06 Remington

6.5 Creedmoor

6.5 Grendel

.270 Winchester from $0.16/rd

7mm-08 Remington

7mm Remington Magnum

.30-06 Springfield

.300 AAC Blackout from $0.56/rd

.300 Winchester Magnum from $1.25/rd

.30-30 Winchester

.308 Winchester

.338 Winchester Magnum

.350 Legend from $1.07/rd

.35 Whelen

.360 Buckhammer

.400 Legend

.444 Marlin

.450 Bushmaster from $2.00/rd

.45-70 Government from $1.97/rd

.50 Beowulf

Spot a data error on this page? Tell us.

How to read these numbers

Every percentage on this page is a prior-draw probability: the chance an applicant with that many points would have drawn in the draw year shown, computed from the agency's published results. It is not a forecast — quotas, applicant numbers, and point creep change every year. Every figure links to the agency document it came from. Where a state does not publish a number, we show a dash, never a zero. Hunts with fewer than five tags show counts instead of percentages. Fees show the fee year used. Read the methodology for the engine details.

Not an application service

This page is informational only. Draw rules, quotas, fees, and deadlines are set by the state agency and change by commission action — confirm everything on the agency's own site before you apply, and apply through the agency, not here. We disclaim all liability for reliance on this page.