New Mexico Elk · GMU 30
New Mexico GMU 30 spans 1,883,421 acres, centered 33 miles west of Carlsbad. 83% of it is public land, mostly BLM (47%) and state trust land (18%). In 2025, 150 people hunted elk here and took 80, a 47% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, ELK-1-400, put up 1 tag (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 82 nonresident first-choice applicants.
No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.
8 licenses · NR capped at 6%
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
57% BLM
1,883,421 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Every License in GMU 30
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ELK-1-400 Standard | Units 29, 30 — either sex — Any Legal — Oct. 1-5 | 0% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-400 Outfitter | Units 29, 30 — either sex — Any Legal — Oct. 1-5 | <1% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-401 Standard | Units 29, 30 — either sex — Any Legal — Oct. 10-14 | 3% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-401 Outfitter | Units 29, 30 — either sex — Any Legal — Oct. 10-14 | 0% (small sample) | |
| ELK-2-398 Standard | Units 29, 30 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 7% (small sample) | |
| ELK-2-398 Outfitter | Units 29, 30 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 3% (small sample) | |
| ELK-2-399 Standard | Units 29, 30 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 0% (small sample) | |
| ELK-2-399 Outfitter | Units 29, 30 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | <1% (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 | 150 | 80 | 47% |
| 2024 | 144 | 72 | 38% |
| 2023 | 136 | 80 | 40% |
| 2022 | 78 | 44 | 51% |
| 2021 | 79 | 48 | 47% |
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
| BLM | 890,767 ac | 47% |
| State trust land | 340,588 ac | 18% |
| National Forest | 283,612 ac | 15% |
| National Park Service | 46,517 ac | 2% |
| State land | 2,144 ac | <1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 1,303 ac | <1% |
| Department of Defense | 720 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 317,766 ac | 17% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 30: Beginning at the NM/TX state line near Dell City, Texas, and its intersection with NM 506/CR E038, then northeast, north, west and north along NM 506/CR E038 through Crow Flats and Cornucopia Draw to its junction with NM 24 east of Pinon, then northeast along NM 24 to its junction with US 82 north of Dunken, then east along US 82 to its intersection with US 285 at Artesia, then south...
▸ 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