New Mexico Elk · GMU 24
New Mexico GMU 24 covers 967,570 acres and lies 8 miles east of Bayard. 73% of it is public land, mostly national forest (31%) and state trust land (27%). In 2025, 1,017 people hunted elk here and took 439, a 43% success rate (sum of published weapon rows). Its most applied-for hunt, ELK-1-342, put up 1 tag (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 28 nonresident first-choice applicants, 1 of whom drew.
No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.
12 licenses · NR capped at 6%
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
42% Forest Service
967,570 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Every License in GMU 24
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ELK-1-342 Standard | Unit 24: excluding Ft. Bayard management area — mature bull — Any Legal — Dec. 19-23 | 4% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-342 Outfitter | Unit 24: excluding Ft. Bayard management area — mature bull — Any Legal — Dec. 19-23 | 0% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-343 Standard · youth | Unit 24: including Ft. Bayard management area, youth only — either sex — Any Legal - Youth… | not open | |
| ELK-1-343 Outfitter · youth | Unit 24: including Ft. Bayard management area, youth only — either sex — Any Legal - Youth… | not open | |
| ELK-1-344 Standard · youth | Unit 24: including Ft. Bayard management area, youth only — antlerless — Any Legal - NM… | not open | |
| ELK-1-344 Outfitter · youth | Unit 24: including Ft. Bayard management area, youth only — antlerless — Any Legal - NM… | not open | |
| ELK-2-339 Standard | Unit 24: excluding Ft. Bayard management area — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 10% (small sample) | |
| ELK-2-339 Outfitter | Unit 24: excluding Ft. Bayard management area — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 100% (small sample) | |
| ELK-2-340 Standard | Unit 24: excluding Ft. Bayard management area — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | not open | |
| ELK-2-340 Outfitter | Unit 24: excluding Ft. Bayard management area — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 0% (small sample) | |
| ELK-3-341 Standard | Unit 24: excluding Ft. Bayard management area — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 17-21 | 0% (small sample) | |
| ELK-3-341 Outfitter | Unit 24: excluding Ft. Bayard management area — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 17-21 | 100% (small sample) |
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) | 1,017 | 439 | 43% |
| 2024 (summed) | 1,185 | 548 | 46% |
| 2023 (summed) | 1,147 | 555 | 48% |
| 2022 (summed) | 1,016 | 487 | 48% |
| 2021 (summed) | 1,033 | 485 | 47% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youth ft bayard | 5 | 2 | 50% |
| Reg · archery (hunt 2 of 3) | 182 | 69 | 38% |
| Reg · archery (hunt 1 of 3) | 187 | 77 | 41% |
| Reg · archery (hunt 3 of 3) | 175 | 33 | 20% |
| Reg · muzzleloader | 234 | 110 | 47% |
| Youth · 75 licenses | 74 | 57 | 76% |
| Youth · 120 licenses | 115 | 59 | 56% |
| Mip | 45 | 32 | 73% |
2025 split: rifle 150 (34%) from 239 hunters, 63%, archery 179 (41%) from 544 hunters, 33%, muzzleloader 110 (25%) from 234 hunters, 47%
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 | 299,938 ac | 31% |
| State trust land | 259,955 ac | 27% |
| BLM | 137,005 ac | 14% |
| State land | 8,210 ac | <1% |
| Department of Defense | 1,599 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 260,862 ac | 27% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 24: Beginning at the junction of NM 26 and US 180 north of Deming and running northwest along US 180 to its intersection with the Gila River south of Cliff, then northeast along the Gila River to its junction with Sapillo Creek, then east along Sapillo Creek to NM 35, then east and south on NM 35 to its junction with FR 152, then northeast along FR 152 to its junction with the Grant-Sierra...
▸ 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.
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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