New Mexico Elk · GMU 16B
New Mexico GMU 16B covers 603,341 acres and lies 29 miles north of Silver City. 100% of it is public land, mostly national forest (100%). Its most applied-for hunt, ELK-2-280, put up 10 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 260 nonresident first-choice applicants, 5 of whom drew.
No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.
10 licenses · NR capped at 6%
first choice, NR
not published
100% Forest Service
603,341 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. Nonresident, first choice, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
- Success
- —
- Season
- Oct 24–28
- Tags / Apps
- 12 / 11
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- —
- Season
- Sep 1–14
- Tags / Apps
- 14 / 185
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- —
- Season
- Sep 1–14
- Tags / Apps
- 22 / 50
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- —
- Season
- Sep 15–24
- Tags / Apps
- 16 / 64
- If Drawn
- $877
Every License in GMU 16B
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ELK-1-281 Standard | Unit 16B/22 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 10-14 | <1% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-281 Outfitter | Unit 16B/22 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 10-14 | 1% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-282 Standard | Unit 16B/22 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 | 0% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-282 Outfitter | Unit 16B/22 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 | 17% | |
| ELK-1-283 Standard | Unit 16B/22 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 | 2% | |
| ELK-1-283 Outfitter | Unit 16B/22 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 | 100% | |
| ELK-2-279 Standard | Unit 16B/22 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 4% | |
| ELK-2-279 Outfitter | Unit 16B/22 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 14% | |
| ELK-2-280 Standard | Unit 16B/22 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 2% | |
| ELK-2-280 Outfitter | Unit 16B/22 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 6% |
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.
The Ground
| National Forest | 603,341 ac | 100% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 16B: That portion of GMU 16 beginning at the junction of USFS road 152 and the Grant-Sierra county line southwest of Board Gate Saddle, then north along the Grant-Sierra county line to Reeds Peak and the Continental Divide, thence north along the Continental Divide to its intersection with USFS trail 42, then west along FT 42 to its junction with FT 40 at Diamond creek, then west along FT...
▸ Sources 5
- 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 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