New Mexico Elk · GMU 17
New Mexico GMU 17 spans 1,054,863 acres, centered 31 miles south-west of Socorro. 78% of it is public land, mostly national forest (47%) and BLM (18%). In 2025, 783 people hunted elk here and took 187, a 28% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, ELK-2-306, put up 5 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 122 nonresident first-choice applicants, 2 of whom drew.
No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.
18 licenses · NR capped at 6%
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
60% Forest Service
1,054,863 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
- 28%
- Season
- Sep 1–14
- Tags / Apps
- 12 / 23
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- 28%
- Season
- Oct 17–21
- Tags / Apps
- 10 / 55
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- 28%
- Season
- Oct 24–28
- Tags / Apps
- 10 / 8
- If Drawn
- $877
Every License in GMU 17
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ELK-2-305 Standard | Unit 17 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 4% | |
| ELK-2-305 Outfitter | Unit 17 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 22% | |
| ELK-2-306 Standard | Unit 17 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 2% | |
| ELK-2-306 Outfitter | Unit 17 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 6% | |
| ELK-3-307 Standard · youth | Unit 17 youth only — either sex — Muzzle - Youth Only — Oct. 10-14 | 3% (small sample) | |
| ELK-3-307 Outfitter · youth | Unit 17 youth only — either sex — Muzzle - Youth Only — Oct. 10-14 | 0% (small sample) | |
| ELK-3-308 Standard | Unit 17 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 17-21 | 3% | |
| ELK-3-308 Outfitter | Unit 17 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 17-21 | 5% | |
| ELK-3-309 Standard | Unit 17 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 24-28 | 7% | |
| ELK-3-309 Outfitter | Unit 17 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 24-28 | 100% | |
| ELK-3-310 Standard | Unit 17 — mature bull — Muzzle — Nov. 21-25 | 2% (small sample) | |
| ELK-3-310 Outfitter | Unit 17 — mature bull — Muzzle — Nov. 21-25 | 4% (small sample) | |
| ELK-3-311 Standard | Unit 17 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Nov. 21-25 | not open | |
| ELK-3-311 Outfitter | Unit 17 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Nov. 21-25 | not open | |
| ELK-3-312 Standard | Unit 17 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Dec. 5-9 | not open | |
| ELK-3-312 Outfitter | Unit 17 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Dec. 5-9 | not open | |
| ELK-3-313 Standard | Unit 17 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Dec. 12-16 | not open | |
| ELK-3-313 Outfitter | Unit 17 — 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 | 783 | 187 | 28% |
| 2024 | 792 | 168 | 25% |
| 2023 | 771 | 153 | 21% |
| 2022 | 818 | 240 | 29% |
| 2021 | 805 | 207 | 24% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg · muzzleloader · 25 licenses | 24 | 2 | 13% |
| Reg · muzzleloader · 99 licenses | 88 | 12 | 14% |
| Reg · muzzleloader · 100 licenses | 94 | 12 | 16% |
| Youth enc. · 51 licenses | 44 | 7 | 16% |
| Youth enc. · 33 licenses | 28 | 9 | 36% |
| Reg · archery · 50 licenses (hunt 1 of 2) | 48 | 2 | 5% |
| Reg · archery · 50 licenses (hunt 2 of 2) | 46 | 8 | 16% |
| Reg · archery · 15 licenses | 13 | 0 | 0% |
| Reg · rifle | 13 | 7 | 46% |
2025 split: muzzleloader 42 (71%) from 278 hunters, 15%, archery 10 (17%) from 107 hunters, 9%, rifle 7 (12%) from 13 hunters, 54%
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 | 492,234 ac | 47% |
| BLM | 189,329 ac | 18% |
| State trust land | 138,179 ac | 13% |
| National Wildlife Refuge | 5,389 ac | <1% |
| State land | 298 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 229,433 ac | 22% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 17: Beginning at the junction of NM 52 and US 60 east of Datil and running east along US 60 to its junction with I-25 at Socorro, then south along I-25 to its junction with NM 52 east of Cuchillo, then west along NM 52 to its junction with NM 142, then northwest along NM 142 to its junction with Alamosa Creek at Monticello, then northwest along Alamosa Creek through Monticello Canyon to...
▸ 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