New Mexico Elk ELK-1-329 — GMU 21B

Unit 21B — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 12-16

GMU 21B within New Mexico

What you may take: Unit 21B — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 12-16
Weapon: Rifle
Where: GMU 21B; 69% public of 1,632,258 acres
Season (2026): Dec 12–16, 2026
Tags (2026): 20; for 10 first-choice applicants
Hunter success here (2025): 39%; of everyone who hunted the area

Showing resident results. Switch to nonresident

Odds by point level — 2026 draw

Prior-draw probability for a first-choice resident applicant. 20 tags, 10 first-choice applicants. Source: 2026 Big Game Drawing Odds... · sheet1 row 640.

Points	Your chance	Applicants	Drawn
0	100%	—	—

Fewer applicants than tags. A dash means New Mexico Department of Game and Fish did not publish a count for that level. How we compute these.

What it costs (2026 resident fees)

Cash to apply

$129

Out of pocket if unsuccessful

$36

Total if drawn

$139

Refunded if unsuccessful

$93

At the 2026 odds, expected cost per hunt-year ranges from $139 (enough points to draw) .

Resident draw application fee (per species, nonrefundable; included in the printed draw price) · paid at application $7 source

Resident Game-Hunting License (must be purchased, nonrefundable, before applying) · paid at application $25 source

Habitat Management and Access Validation (HMAV), mandatory age 18+ · paid at application $4 source

Habitat Stamp (required to hunt on BLM and Forest Service land) · paid if drawn $10 source

Resident Elk License, mature bull or either sex, any fee tier (printed $100 incl. $7 application fee); antlerless $70 printed ($63 + $7) · paid at application, refundable $93 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 640

How this tag has hunted

Across every license type in GMU 21B, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish counted 281 hunters and 150 elk taken in 2025 — 39% of them killed something. Full GMU 21B 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

As a lower choice

2nd choice

42%

Drawn at this choice ÷ applicants listing it at this choice, as published. Points do not help a lower choice.

3rd choice

17%

Drawn at this choice ÷ applicants listing it at this choice, as published. Points do not help a lower choice.

Year by year

The standard draw for residents, one row per year.

Year	Tags	Applicants	Applicants per tag	Points needed	Published odds	Source
2026	20	10	0.5	—	29%	2026 Big Game Drawing Odds... · sheet1 row 640
2025	20	18	0.9	—	23%	2025-26 Big-Game Drawing Odds... · sheet1 row 642
2024	20	13	0.7	—	32%	2024-25 Big-Game Drawing Odds... · sheet1 row 651
2023	20	8	0.4	—	28%	2023 Big-Game Complete Drawing... · sheet1 row 650

Other licenses valid in GMU 21B

High demand — Unit 21B — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 1-5 Rifle High demand — Unit 21B — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 Rifle ELK-1-325 — Unit 21B — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 Rifle ELK-1-326 — Unit 21B — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Nov. 21-25 Rifle ELK-1-327 — Unit 21B — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Nov. 28-Dec. 2 Rifle ELK-1-328 — Unit 21B — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 5-9 Rifle High demand — Unit 21B — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 Archery High demand — Unit 21B — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 Archery ELK-2-330 — Unit 21B — mature bull — Bow — Dec. 19-23 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.