New Mexico Elk · GMU 50
New Mexico GMU 50 covers 590,490 acres and lies 20 miles south-west of Questa and 37 miles west of Angel Fire. 71% of it is public land, mostly BLM (50%) and national forest (15%). In 2025, 1,137 people hunted elk here and took 363, a 32% success rate (sum of published weapon rows). Its most applied-for hunt, ELK-1-189, put up 7 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 35 nonresident first-choice applicants, 4 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
69% BLM
590,490 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.
Every License in GMU 50
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ELK-1-189 Standard | Unit 50 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 10-14 | 11% | |
| ELK-1-189 Outfitter | Unit 50 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 10-14 | 100% | |
| ELK-1-190 Standard | Unit 50 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 | 11% | |
| ELK-1-190 Outfitter | Unit 50 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 | 100% | |
| ELK-1-191 Standard | Unit 50 — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Nov. 7-11 | not open | |
| ELK-1-191 Outfitter | Unit 50 — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Nov. 7-11 | not open | |
| ELK-1-192 Standard | Unit 50 — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Nov. 21-25 | not open | |
| ELK-1-192 Outfitter | Unit 50 — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Nov. 21-25 | not open | |
| ELK-2-187 Standard | Unit 50 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 100% | |
| ELK-2-187 Outfitter | Unit 50 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 100% (small sample) | |
| ELK-2-188 Standard | Unit 50 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 17% (small sample) | |
| ELK-2-188 Outfitter | Unit 50 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 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) | 1,137 | 363 | 32% |
| 2024 (summed) | 1,123 | 313 | 28% |
| 2023 (summed) | 1,119 | 328 | 29% |
| 2022 (summed) | 1,169 | 352 | 30% |
| 2021 (summed) | 1,177 | 360 | 31% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg · rifle · 41 licenses | 36 | 11 | 32% |
| Reg · rifle · 45 licenses | 44 | 15 | 38% |
| Reg · archery (hunt 2 of 2) | 166 | 40 | 24% |
| Reg · archery (hunt 1 of 2) | 168 | 32 | 18% |
| Reg · muzzleloader | 133 | 51 | 39% |
| Reg · rifle · 220 licenses (hunt 2 of 3) | 195 | 88 | 45% |
| Reg · rifle · 220 licenses (hunt 1 of 3) | 204 | 68 | 35% |
| Reg · rifle · 220 licenses (hunt 3 of 3) | 191 | 58 | 28% |
2025 split: rifle 240 (66%) from 670 hunters, 36%, archery 72 (20%) from 334 hunters, 22%, muzzleloader 51 (14%) from 133 hunters, 38%
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
| BLM | 294,591 ac | 50% |
| National Forest | 91,507 ac | 15% |
| State trust land | 27,822 ac | 5% |
| Tribal | 9,943 ac | 2% |
| State land | 3,315 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 163,309 ac | 28% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 50: Beginning at the junction of US 84 and NM 554 east of Abiquiu and US 84 and NM 554 east of Abiquiu and running north and east along NM 554 to running north and east along NM 554 to its junction with NM 111, then southeast its junction with NM 111, then southeast along NM 111 to its junction with US 285, along NM 111 to its junction with US 285, then north along US 285 to the NM/CO then...
▸ 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