New Mexico Elk · GMU 45
New Mexico GMU 45 covers 976,072 acres and lies 18 miles north of Pecos. 78% of it is public land, mostly national forest (67%) and BLM (9%). In 2025, 659 people hunted elk here and took 188, a 27% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, ELK-2-367, put up 4 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 96 nonresident first-choice applicants.
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
81% Forest Service
976,072 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
- 27%
- Season
- Oct 17–21
- Tags / Apps
- 14 / 19
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- 27%
- Season
- Oct 24–28
- Tags / Apps
- 14 / 8
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- 27%
- Season
- Oct 10–14
- Tags / Apps
- 13 / 12
- If Drawn
- $877
Every License in GMU 45
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ELK-1-369 Standard | Unit 45 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 | 4% | |
| ELK-1-369 Outfitter | Unit 45 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 | 32% | |
| ELK-1-370 Standard | Unit 45 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 | 0% | |
| ELK-1-370 Outfitter | Unit 45 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 | 100% | |
| ELK-2-366 Standard | Unit 45 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 5% | |
| ELK-2-366 Outfitter | Unit 45 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 15% | |
| ELK-2-367 Standard | Unit 45 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 0% (small sample) | |
| ELK-2-367 Outfitter | Unit 45 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 8% | |
| ELK-3-368 Standard | Unit 45 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 10-14 | 9% | |
| ELK-3-368 Outfitter | Unit 45 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 10-14 | 100% | |
| ELK-3-371 Standard | Unit 45 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Nov. 14-18 | not open | |
| ELK-3-371 Outfitter | Unit 45 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Nov. 14-18 | 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 | 659 | 188 | 27% |
| 2024 | 651 | 178 | 27% |
| 2023 | 611 | 158 | 25% |
| 2022 | 624 | 158 | 24% |
| 2021 | 652 | 173 | 24% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg · rifle · 145 licenses | 119 | 29 | 23% |
| Reg · rifle · 140 licenses | 117 | 24 | 20% |
| Reg · archery (hunt 2 of 2) | 71 | 13 | 18% |
| Reg · archery (hunt 1 of 2) | 72 | 7 | 10% |
| Reg · muzzleloader | 54 | 14 | 27% |
| Reg · rifle · 75 licenses | 65 | 20 | 27% |
2025 split: rifle 73 (68%) from 301 hunters, 24%, archery 20 (19%) from 143 hunters, 14%, muzzleloader 14 (13%) from 54 hunters, 26%
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 | 653,377 ac | 67% |
| BLM | 91,114 ac | 9% |
| Tribal | 44,866 ac | 5% |
| State trust land | 12,225 ac | 1% |
| National Park Service | 6,339 ac | <1% |
| State land | 81 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 168,069 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 45: Beginning at Glorieta on US 84, and running west and north along US 84 to its intersection with NM 68 at Espanola, then northeast along NM 68 to its intersection with NM 75 at Embudo, then east along NM 75 to its intersection with NM 518, then east along NM 518 to its intersection with the Santa Fe national forest boundary line near Holman hill, then south along the Santa Fe national...
▸ 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.
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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 · All New Mexico elk hunts