New Mexico Elk — GMU 21A

New Mexico GMU 21A covers 298,975 acres and lies 28 miles west of Truth or Consequences and 37 miles north-east of Santa Clara. 100% of it is public land, mostly national forest (100%). In 2025, 234 people hunted elk here and took 48 — 25% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 5 tags here for 19 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2026):34 Nonresident share:capped at 6% Applicants:302 Hunter success (2025):25% Public land:100% Size:298,975 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in GMU 21A, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.

Simple view Odds at every point level

ELK-1-316 Unit 21A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 10-14 1 tags · 37 applicants · Standard

3% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
ELK-1-316 Unit 21A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 10-14 1 tags · 50 applicants · Outfitter

2% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
ELK-1-317 Unit 21A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 2 tags · 29 applicants · Standard

0% Long shot 5% as 2nd choice
ELK-1-317 Unit 21A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 3 tags · 28 applicants · Outfitter

7% Long shot 2% as 2nd choice
ELK-1-318 Unit 21A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 3 tags · 10 applicants · Standard

0% Long shot 2% as 2nd choice
ELK-1-318 Unit 21A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 5 tags · 19 applicants · Outfitter

11% Long shot 5% as 2nd choice
ELK-1-319 Unit 21A — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 5-9 0 tags · 0 applicants · Standard

— Not open to nonresidents
ELK-1-319 Unit 21A — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 5-9 1 tags · 0 applicants · Outfitter

100% No first-choice applicants
ELK-2-314 Unit 21A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 3 tags · 25 applicants · Standard

12% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
ELK-2-314 Unit 21A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 5 tags · 8 applicants · Outfitter

25% Long shot 8% as 2nd choice
ELK-2-315 Unit 21A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 3 tags · 22 applicants · Standard

9% Long shot 2% as 2nd choice
ELK-2-315 Unit 21A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 5 tags · 71 applicants · Outfitter

7% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
ELK-2-320 Unit 21A — mature bull — Bow — Dec. 19-23 1 tags · 3 applicants · Standard

0% Long shot 13% as 2nd choice
ELK-2-320 Unit 21A — mature bull — Bow — Dec. 19-23 1 tags · 0 applicants · Outfitter

100% No first-choice applicants 100% as 2nd choice

Hunt	Your odds	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
ELK-1-316 ↗ Unit 21A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 10-14 Rifle	3% Long shot	0%	—	1 / 37	Standard	Oct 10–14, 2026
ELK-1-316 ↗ Unit 21A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 10-14 Rifle	2% Long shot	0%	—	1 / 50	Outfitter	Oct 10–14, 2026
ELK-1-317 ↗ Unit 21A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 Rifle	0% Long shot	5%	—	2 / 29	Standard	Oct 17–21, 2026
ELK-1-317 ↗ Unit 21A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 Rifle	7% Long shot	2%	—	3 / 28	Outfitter	Oct 17–21, 2026
ELK-1-318 ↗ Unit 21A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 Rifle	0% Long shot	2%	—	3 / 10	Standard	Oct 24–28, 2026
ELK-1-318 ↗ Unit 21A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 Rifle	11% Long shot	5%	—	5 / 19	Outfitter	Oct 24–28, 2026
ELK-1-319 ↗ Unit 21A — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 5-9 Rifle	Not open to nonresidents	—	—	0 / 0	Standard	Dec 5–9, 2026
ELK-1-319 ↗ Unit 21A — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 5-9 Rifle	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	1 / 0	Outfitter	Dec 5–9, 2026
ELK-2-314 ↗ Unit 21A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 Archery	12% Long shot	0%	—	3 / 25	Standard	Sep 1–14, 2026
ELK-2-314 ↗ Unit 21A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 Archery	25% Long shot	8%	—	5 / 8	Outfitter	Sep 1–14, 2026
ELK-2-315 ↗ Unit 21A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 Archery	9% Long shot	2%	—	3 / 22	Standard	Sep 15–24, 2026
ELK-2-315 ↗ Unit 21A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 Archery	7% Long shot	0%	—	5 / 71	Outfitter	Sep 15–24, 2026
ELK-2-320 ↗ Unit 21A — mature bull — Bow — Dec. 19-23 Archery	0% Long shot	13%	—	1 / 3	Standard	Dec 19–23, 2026
ELK-2-320 ↗ Unit 21A — mature bull — Bow — Dec. 19-23 Archery	100% No first-choice applicants	100%	—	1 / 0	Outfitter	Dec 19–23, 2026

What these columns mean

Your odds: the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
The badge: plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
As 2nd choice: New Mexico lets you name more than one hunt on the application. Miss on your first choice and you go into the pot for whatever tags are left, alongside everyone else's second choices. Points never help a lower choice, so this number is the same whatever you have banked — it is usually worth naming a hunt that goes undersubscribed.
Points needed: the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
Tags / applicants: tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.

What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)

License	Up front	Gone if you miss	If you draw
Standard license	$867	$107	$877
Outfitter license	$867	$107	$877

Application window: closes Mar 18, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

The country

GMU 21A within New Mexico

GMU 21A and its neighbours

Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.

Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.

Who owns the ground

National Forest 297,891 ac · 100%
State trust land 189 ac · 0%
BLM 3 ac · 0%

Source: BLM_Surface_Management_2023 (BLM New Mexico State Office Surface Management Agency layer)

Nearby areas

How the hunting has gone

What New Mexico Department of Game and Fish publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast.