New Mexico Elk ELK-3-312 — GMU 17

Unit 17 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Dec. 5-9

GMU 17 within New Mexico

What you may take: Unit 17 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Dec. 5-9
Weapon: Muzzleloader
Where: GMU 17; 78% public of 1,054,863 acres
Season (2026): Dec 5–9, 2026
Tags (2026): 100; for 44 first-choice applicants
Hunter success here (2025): 28%; of everyone who hunted the area

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Odds by point level — 2026 draw

Prior-draw probability for a first-choice resident applicant. 100 tags, 44 first-choice applicants. Source: 2026 Big Game Drawing Odds... · sheet1 row 843.

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 5–9, 2026 p. sheet1 row 843

How this tag has hunted

Across every license type in GMU 17, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish counted 783 hunters and 187 elk taken in 2025 — 28% of them killed something. Full GMU 17 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

29%

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	100	44	0.4	—	38%	2026 Big Game Drawing Odds... · sheet1 row 843
2025	100	46	0.5	—	39%	2025-26 Big-Game Drawing Odds... · sheet1 row 845
2024	100	34	0.3	—	45%	2024-25 Big-Game Drawing Odds... · sheet1 row 854
2023	100	44	0.4	—	41%	2023 Big-Game Complete Drawing... · sheet1 row 853

Other licenses valid in GMU 17

High demand — Unit 17 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 Archery Quality high demand — Unit 17 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 Archery High demand — Unit 17 youth only — either sex — Muzzle - Youth Only — Oct. 10-14 Muzzleloader Quality high demand — Unit 17 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 17-21 Muzzleloader High demand — Unit 17 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 24-28 Muzzleloader High demand — Unit 17 — mature bull — Muzzle — Nov. 21-25 Muzzleloader ELK-3-311 — Unit 17 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Nov. 21-25 Muzzleloader ELK-3-313 — Unit 17 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Dec. 12-16 Muzzleloader

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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.