New Mexico Elk · GMU 13

New Mexico GMU 13 spans 2,847,763 acres, centered 42 miles west of Belen. 48% of it is public land, mostly BLM (19%) and state trust land (11%). A further 25% is tribal land rather than public land. In 2025, 1,536 people hunted elk here and took 364, a 24% success rate (sum of published weapon rows). Its most applied-for hunt, ELK-2-257, put up 9 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 168 nonresident first-choice applicants, 8 of whom drew.

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

Tags, 2026

112

16 licenses · NR capped at 6%

Applicants

876

first choice, NR

Hunter Success

24%

2025, all licenses

Public Land

48%

26% BLM

Size

4,450 mi²

2,847,763 acres

Belen Grants Socorro Albuquerque Rio Rancho 10 12 15 16A 16C 16D 16E 17 36 37 38 39 43 6A 9 13

24%

hunter success · 2025

1,536 hunters, 364 elk

24%hunter success 2025 · 1,536 hunters, 364 elk

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

Best Bets

Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2025. Nonresident, first choice, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.

ELK-2-256

Outfitter · any elk

10%

Unit 13 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14

Success: 24%
Season: Sep 1–14
Tags / Apps: 20 / 67
If Drawn: $877

ELK-2-257

Outfitter · any elk

Unit 13 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24

Success: 24%
Season: Sep 15–24
Tags / Apps: 14 / 161
If Drawn: $877

ELK-3-260

Outfitter · bull

19%

Unit 13 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 24-28

Success: 24%
Season: Oct 24–28
Tags / Apps: 13 / 27
If Drawn: $877

ELK-3-261

Outfitter · bull

13%

Unit 13 — mature bull — Muzzle — Nov. 21-25

Success: 24%
Season: Nov 21–25
Tags / Apps: 13 / 32
If Drawn: $877

Every License in GMU 13

90–100% 50–89% 10–49% 1–9% under 1% fewer than 5 tags: one applicant swings it

	What	Season		Tags / Apps
ELK-2-256 Standard	Unit 13 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14	Sep 1–14	6%	12 / 103	—
ELK-2-256 Outfitter	Unit 13 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14	Sep 1–14	10%	20 / 67	—
ELK-2-257 Standard	Unit 13 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24	Sep 15–24	5%	9 / 168	—
ELK-2-257 Outfitter	Unit 13 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24	Sep 15–24	9%	14 / 161	—
ELK-3-258 Standard · youth	Unit 13 youth only — either sex — Muzzle - Youth Only — Oct. 10-14	Oct 10–14	0% (small sample)	1 / 25	—
ELK-3-258 Outfitter · youth	Unit 13 youth only — either sex — Muzzle - Youth Only — Oct. 10-14	Oct 10–14	5% (small sample)	3 / 22	—
ELK-3-259 Standard	Unit 13 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 17-21	Oct 17–21	2%	5 / 105	—
ELK-3-259 Outfitter	Unit 13 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 17-21	Oct 17–21	5%	8 / 119	—
ELK-3-260 Standard	Unit 13 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 24-28	Oct 24–28	4%	7 / 26	—
ELK-3-260 Outfitter	Unit 13 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 24-28	Oct 24–28	19%	13 / 27	—
ELK-3-261 Standard	Unit 13 — mature bull — Muzzle — Nov. 21-25	Nov 21–25	14%	7 / 21	—
ELK-3-261 Outfitter	Unit 13 — mature bull — Muzzle — Nov. 21-25	Nov 21–25	13%	13 / 32	—
ELK-3-262 Standard	Unit 13 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Dec. 5-9	Dec 5–9	not open	0 / 0	—
ELK-3-262 Outfitter	Unit 13 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Dec. 5-9	Dec 5–9	not open	0 / 0	—
ELK-3-263 Standard	Unit 13 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Dec. 12-16	Dec 12–16	not open	0 / 0	—
ELK-3-263 Outfitter	Unit 13 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Dec. 12-16	Dec 12–16	not open	0 / 0	—

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 $877 ($867 to apply) · Outfitter $877 ($867 to apply). Closes Mar 17, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

Harvest

Year	Hunters	Elk	Success
2025 (summed)	1,536	364	24%
2024 (summed)	1,544	389	25%
2023 (summed)	1,476	330	22%
2022 (summed)	1,541	392	25%
2021 (summed)	1,521	460	30%

2025 by License	Hunters	Elk	Success
Reg · muzzleloader · 117 licenses	110	30	30%
Reg · muzzleloader · 116 licenses	109	24	24%
Youth enc. · 58 licenses	54	16	32%
Youth enc. · 51 licenses	49	23	51%
Reg · archery · 350 licenses	322	70	22%
Reg · archery · 250 licenses	235	29	12%
Youth	24	17	70%
Reg · muzzleloader · 200 licenses	179	50	27%
Reg · muzzleloader · 245 licenses	223	55	24%
Reg · muzzleloader · 250 licenses	231	50	22%

2025 split: muzzleloader 265 (73%) from 979 hunters, 27%, archery 99 (27%) from 557 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 Elk Harvest Report; NMDGF 2024-2025 Elk Harvest Report; NMDGF 2023 Elk Hunter Harvest Report.

The Ground

Tribal	718,193 ac	25%
BLM	538,483 ac	19%
State trust land	310,048 ac	11%
National Forest	308,806 ac	11%
National Park Service	108,481 ac	4%
National Wildlife Refuge	87,249 ac	3%
State land	1,518 ac	<1%
Private or other non-public land	774,983 ac	27%

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

Next Door

What the Agency Says About the Area

GMU 13: Beginning at the junction of NM 53 and I-40 west of Grants and running east along I-40 to its junction with NM 6, then southeast along NM 6 to its junction with I-25 at Los Lunas, then south along I-25 to its junction with US 60 at Socorro, then west along US 60 to its junction with NM 12 at Datil, then southwest along NM 12 to its junction with Catron county road B034, then northwest...

Source: NMDGF 2026 NM Game Management Units, layer 0.

▸ 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 Elk Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
NMDGF 2024-2025 Elk Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
NMDGF 2023 Elk Hunter Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
NMDGF 2022 Elk Hunter Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
NMDGF 2021 Elk Hunter 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 elk hunts