New Mexico Elk · GMU 16A
New Mexico GMU 16A covers 412,289 acres and lies 16 miles south-east of Reserve and 55 miles north of Silver City. 99% of it is public land, mostly national forest (99%) and state trust land (1%). In 2025, 858 people hunted elk here and took 304, a 48% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, ELK-1-275, put up 5 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 1,880 nonresident first-choice applicants, 5 of whom drew.
No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.
14 licenses · NR capped at 6%
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
99% Forest Service
412,289 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
- 48%
- Season
- Oct 24–28
- Tags / Apps
- 10 / 212
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- 48%
- Season
- Sep 1–14
- Tags / Apps
- 15 / 457
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- 48%
- Season
- Sep 1–14
- Tags / Apps
- 25 / 281
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- 48%
- Season
- Sep 15–24
- Tags / Apps
- 15 / 710
- If Drawn
- $877
Every License in GMU 16A
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ELK-1-274 Standard · hunters | Unit 16A mobility impaired only — mature bull — Any Legal - Mobility — Oct. 10-14 | 7% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-274 Outfitter · hunters | Unit 16A mobility impaired only — mature bull — Any Legal - Mobility — Oct. 10-14 | 3% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-275 Standard | Unit 16A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 | <1% | |
| ELK-1-275 Outfitter | Unit 16A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 | <1% | |
| ELK-1-276 Standard | Unit 16A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 | 1% | |
| ELK-1-276 Outfitter | Unit 16A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 | 4% | |
| ELK-1-277 Standard | Unit 16A — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 5-9 | not open | |
| ELK-1-277 Outfitter | Unit 16A — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 5-9 | 100% | |
| ELK-1-278 Standard | Unit 16A — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 12-16 | not open | |
| ELK-1-278 Outfitter | Unit 16A — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 12-16 | 100% | |
| ELK-2-272 Standard | Unit 16A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 3% | |
| ELK-2-272 Outfitter | Unit 16A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 6% | |
| ELK-2-273 Standard | Unit 16A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | <1% | |
| ELK-2-273 Outfitter | Unit 16A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 2% |
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 | 858 | 304 | 48% |
| 2024 | 851 | 362 | 49% |
| 2023 | 846 | 321 | 55% |
| 2022 | 878 | 250 | 29% |
| 2021 | 872 | 350 | 40% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg · rifle · 76 licenses | 71 | 33 | 48% |
| Reg · rifle · 75 licenses | 66 | 26 | 40% |
| Youth enc. · 78 licenses | 76 | 47 | 65% |
| Youth enc. · 75 licenses | 72 | 36 | 53% |
| Reg · archery · 225 licenses | 200 | 26 | 13% |
| Reg · archery · 165 licenses | 155 | 22 | 15% |
| Reg · rifle · 25 licenses | 18 | 8 | 43% |
2025 split: rifle 150 (76%) from 303 hunters, 50%, archery 48 (24%) from 355 hunters, 14%
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 | 406,160 ac | 99% |
| State trust land | 2,909 ac | <1% |
| State land | 157 ac | <1% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 16A: That portion of GMU 16 beginning at the junction of Bursum Road (NM 159/USFS Road 28) and US 180, then north along US 180 to its junction with NM 12, then northeast along NM 12 to its junction with NM 435, then south along NM 435 to its junction with Negrito Creek south of Reserve, then east along Negrito Creek to its junction with the north fork of Negrito Creek, then east along 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.
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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 · All New Mexico elk hunts