New Mexico Elk · GMU 15
New Mexico GMU 15 spans 1,045,580 acres, centered 26 miles north of Reserve. 82% of it is public land, mostly national forest (60%) and BLM (17%). In 2025, 2,135 people hunted elk here and took 744, a 40% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, ELK-2-265, put up 15 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 651 nonresident first-choice applicants, 2 of whom drew.
No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.
16 licenses · NR capped at 6%
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
74% Forest Service
1,045,580 acres
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.
- Success
- 40%
- Season
- Sep 1–14
- Tags / Apps
- 35 / 116
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- 40%
- Season
- Oct 17–21
- Tags / Apps
- 20 / 193
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- 40%
- Season
- Nov 14–18
- Tags / Apps
- 15 / 87
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- 40%
- Season
- Nov 14–18
- Tags / Apps
- 25 / 41
- If Drawn
- $877
Every License in GMU 15
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ELK-2-264 Standard | Unit 15 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 3% | |
| ELK-2-264 Outfitter | Unit 15 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 8% | |
| ELK-2-265 Standard | Unit 15 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | <1% | |
| ELK-2-265 Outfitter | Unit 15 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 4% | |
| ELK-3-266 Standard · youth | Unit 15 youth only — either sex — Muzzle - Youth Only — Oct. 10-14 | 3% (small sample) | |
| ELK-3-266 Outfitter · youth | Unit 15 youth only — either sex — Muzzle - Youth Only — Oct. 10-14 | 3% (small sample) | |
| ELK-3-267 Standard | Unit 15 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 17-21 | 1% | |
| ELK-3-267 Outfitter | Unit 15 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 17-21 | 7% | |
| ELK-3-268 Standard | Unit 15 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 24-28 | 5% | |
| ELK-3-268 Outfitter | Unit 15 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 24-28 | 3% | |
| ELK-3-269 Standard | Unit 15 — mature bull — Muzzle — Nov. 14-18 | 13% | |
| ELK-3-269 Outfitter | Unit 15 — mature bull — Muzzle — Nov. 14-18 | 22% | |
| ELK-3-270 Standard | Unit 15 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Dec. 5-9 | not open | |
| ELK-3-270 Outfitter | Unit 15 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Dec. 5-9 | 100% (small sample) | |
| ELK-3-271 Standard | Unit 15 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Dec. 12-16 | not open | |
| ELK-3-271 Outfitter | Unit 15 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Dec. 12-16 | not open |
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 | 2,135 | 744 | 40% |
| 2024 | 2,155 | 702 | 37% |
| 2023 | 2,092 | 611 | 35% |
| 2022 | 2,149 | 746 | 33% |
| 2021 | 2,190 | 879 | 38% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg · muzzleloader (hunt 2 of 2) | 232 | 99 | 45% |
| Reg · muzzleloader (hunt 1 of 2) | 236 | 97 | 44% |
| Youth enc. (hunt 2 of 2) | 71 | 32 | 49% |
| Youth enc. (hunt 1 of 2) | 72 | 33 | 53% |
| Reg · archery · 250 licenses | 229 | 41 | 17% |
| Reg · archery · 150 licenses | 138 | 15 | 11% |
| Mip | 23 | 15 | 67% |
| Reg · rifle · 75 licenses | 70 | 38 | 54% |
| Reg · rifle · 100 licenses | 95 | 43 | 44% |
2025 split: muzzleloader 261 (63%) from 611 hunters, 43%, archery 56 (14%) from 367 hunters, 15%, rifle 96 (23%) from 188 hunters, 51%
What New Mexico Department of Game and Fish publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. Source: NMDGF 2025-2026 Elk Harvest Report; NMDGF 2024-2025 Elk Harvest Report; NMDGF 2023 Elk Hunter Harvest Report.
The Ground
| National Forest | 632,560 ac | 60% |
| BLM | 174,476 ac | 17% |
| State trust land | 50,039 ac | 5% |
| State land | 166 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 188,337 ac | 18% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 15: Beginning at the intersection of the NM/AZ state line and US 60 and running east along US 60 to its intersection with NM 603 at Pie Town, then south and east along A056 to its junction with B040, then east along B040 to its junction with NM 12 south of Datil, then southwest along NM 12 to its junction with US 180 west of Reserve, then northwest along US 180 to its intersection with the...
▸ 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.
Report an error on this page
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