New Mexico Elk · GMU 16C
New Mexico GMU 16C covers 306,857 acres and lies 45 miles west of Truth or Consequences. 94% of it is public land, mostly national forest (78%) and state trust land (15%). In 2025, 492 people hunted elk here and took 142, a 29% success rate (sum of published weapon rows). Its most applied-for hunt, ELK-2-285, put up 6 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 97 nonresident first-choice applicants, 2 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
83% Forest Service
306,857 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.
Every License in GMU 16C
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ELK-1-286 Standard · youth | Unit 16C youth only — either sex — Any Legal — Oct. 10-14 | 0% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-286 Outfitter · youth | Unit 16C youth only — either sex — Any Legal — Oct. 10-14 | 3% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-287 Standard | Unit 16C — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 | 0% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-287 Outfitter | Unit 16C — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 | 10% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-288 Standard | Unit 16C — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 | 2% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-288 Outfitter | Unit 16C — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 | 100% | |
| ELK-1-289 Standard | Unit 16C — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 5-9 | not open | |
| ELK-1-289 Outfitter | Unit 16C — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 5-9 | 100% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-290 Standard | Unit 16C — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 12-16 | not open | |
| ELK-1-290 Outfitter | Unit 16C — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 12-16 | not open | |
| ELK-2-284 Standard | Unit 16C — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 6% | |
| ELK-2-284 Outfitter | Unit 16C — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 100% | |
| ELK-2-285 Standard | Unit 16C — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 2% | |
| ELK-2-285 Outfitter | Unit 16C — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 17% |
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) | 492 | 142 | 29% |
| 2024 (summed) | 480 | 191 | 40% |
| 2023 (summed) | 505 | 142 | 28% |
| 2022 (summed) | 492 | 167 | 34% |
| 2021 (summed) | 480 | 176 | 37% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg · rifle · 50 licenses (hunt 1 of 2) | 44 | 13 | 31% |
| Reg · rifle · 48 licenses | 46 | 8 | 21% |
| Youth enc. · 74 licenses | 71 | 13 | 23% |
| Youth enc. · 75 licenses | 73 | 10 | 19% |
| Reg · archery · 90 licenses | 85 | 14 | 16% |
| Reg · archery · 60 licenses | 55 | 7 | 12% |
| Mip | 23 | 15 | 67% |
| Reg · rifle · 55 licenses | 52 | 32 | 61% |
| Reg · rifle · 50 licenses (hunt 2 of 2) | 43 | 30 | 67% |
2025 split: rifle 121 (85%) from 352 hunters, 34%, archery 21 (15%) from 140 hunters, 15%
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
| National Forest | 239,290 ac | 78% |
| State trust land | 46,283 ac | 15% |
| BLM | 1,250 ac | <1% |
| State land | 133 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 19,899 ac | 6% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 16C: That portion of GMU 16 beginning at the road junction of FR 150 and FR 30 in Railroad Canyon, then northeast along FR 150 to its junction with NM 163/FR 150, then northeast along NM 163 to the Continental Divide, then south along the Continental Divide to FT 42, then south along FT 42 to FT 40, then west on FT 40 to and across FR 150 to FR 225 (old FR 19), then southwest along FR 225...
▸ 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.
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 · All New Mexico elk hunts