New Mexico Elk · GMU 52

New Mexico GMU 52 covers 268,846 acres and lies 32 miles west of Questa and 45 miles north-west of Taos. 95% of it is public land, mostly national forest (78%) and BLM (15%). In 2025, 1,458 people hunted elk here and took 488, a 40% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, ELK-1-207, put up 13 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 184 nonresident first-choice applicants, 11 of whom drew.

No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.

Tags, 2026

180

22 licenses · NR capped at 6%

Applicants

977

first choice, NR

Hunter Success

40%

2025, all licenses

Public Land

95%

83% Forest Service

Size

420 mi²

268,846 acres

Questa 4 50 51 53 52

40%

hunter success · 2025

1,458 hunters, 488 elk

40%hunter success 2025 · 1,458 hunters, 488 elk

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.

ELK-1-208

Outfitter · bull

10%

Unit 52 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28

Success: 40%
Season: Oct 24–28
Tags / Apps: 23 / 49
If Drawn: $877

ELK-2-202

Outfitter · any elk

33%

Unit 52 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14

Success: 40%
Season: Sep 1–14
Tags / Apps: 23 / 39
If Drawn: $877

ELK-2-203

Outfitter · any elk

21%

Unit 52 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24

Success: 40%
Season: Sep 15–24
Tags / Apps: 23 / 84
If Drawn: $877

ELK-3-205

Outfitter · bull

27%

Unit 52 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 10-14

Success: 40%
Season: Oct 10–14
Tags / Apps: 12 / 41
If Drawn: $877

Every License in GMU 52

90–100% 50–89% 10–49% 1–9% under 1% fewer than 5 tags: one applicant swings it

	What	Season		Tags / Apps
ELK-1-207 Standard	Unit 52 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21	Oct 17–21	6%	13 / 184	—
ELK-1-207 Outfitter	Unit 52 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21	Oct 17–21	10%	23 / 142	—
ELK-1-208 Standard	Unit 52 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28	Oct 24–28	5%	13 / 93	—
ELK-1-208 Outfitter	Unit 52 — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28	Oct 24–28	10%	23 / 49	—
ELK-1-209 Standard · youth	Unit 52 youth only — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Nov. 14-18	Nov 14–18	not open	0 / 0	—
ELK-1-209 Outfitter · youth	Unit 52 youth only — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Nov. 14-18	Nov 14–18	100% (small sample)	1 / 1	—
ELK-1-210 Standard · hunters	Unit 52 mobility impaired only — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Nov. 21-25	Nov 21–25	not open	0 / 0	—
ELK-1-210 Outfitter · hunters	Unit 52 mobility impaired only — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Nov. 21-25	Nov 21–25	100% (small sample)	1 / 0	—
ELK-1-211 Standard	Unit 52 — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Nov. 21-25	Nov 21–25	not open	0 / 0	—
ELK-1-211 Outfitter	Unit 52 — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Nov. 21-25	Nov 21–25	100% (small sample)	2 / 2	—
ELK-1-212 Standard	Unit 52 — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 5-9	Dec 5–9	not open	0 / 0	—
ELK-1-212 Outfitter	Unit 52 — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Dec. 5-9	Dec 5–9	100% (small sample)	3 / 3	—
ELK-2-202 Standard	Unit 52 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14	Sep 1–14	7%	13 / 107	—
ELK-2-202 Outfitter	Unit 52 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14	Sep 1–14	33%	23 / 39	—
ELK-2-203 Standard	Unit 52 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24	Sep 15–24	3%	13 / 142	—
ELK-2-203 Outfitter	Unit 52 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24	Sep 15–24	21%	23 / 84	—
ELK-3-204 Standard · hunters	Unit 52 mobility impaired only — mature bull — Muzzle - Mobility — Oct. 10-14	Oct 10–14	100% (small sample)	3 / 1	—
ELK-3-204 Outfitter · hunters	Unit 52 mobility impaired only — mature bull — Muzzle - Mobility — Oct. 10-14	Oct 10–14	100%	5 / 1	—
ELK-3-205 Standard	Unit 52 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 10-14	Oct 10–14	6%	7 / 88	—
ELK-3-205 Outfitter	Unit 52 — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 10-14	Oct 10–14	27%	12 / 41	—
ELK-3-206 Standard	Unit 52 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Oct. 10-14	Oct 10–14	not open	0 / 0	—
ELK-3-206 Outfitter	Unit 52 — antlerless — Muzzle - NM — Oct. 10-14	Oct 10–14	100% (small sample)	2 / 0	—

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	1,458	488	40%
2024	1,498	515	41%
2023	1,449	425	34%
2022	1,426	475	32%
2021	1,453	362	24%

2025 by License	Hunters	Elk	Success
Youth	77	19	25%
Mip	51	27	56%
Reg · rifle · 73 licenses	64	23	35%
Reg · rifle · 115 licenses	106	65	61%
Youth enc.	53	29	57%
Reg · archery · 150 licenses	137	48	34%
Reg · archery · 102 licenses	95	37	39%
Reg · muzzleloader	97	37	39%
Reg · rifle · 100 licenses	92	45	51%
Reg · rifle · 104 licenses	96	29	33%

2025 split: rifle 237 (66%) from 539 hunters, 44%, archery 85 (24%) from 232 hunters, 37%, muzzleloader 37 (10%) from 97 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. Source: NMDGF 2025-2026 Elk Harvest Report; NMDGF 2024-2025 Elk Harvest Report; NMDGF 2023 Elk Hunter Harvest Report.

The Ground

National Forest	209,657 ac	78%
BLM	39,929 ac	15%
State trust land	3,650 ac	1%
State land	857 ac	<1%
Tribal	1 ac	<1%
Private or other non-public land	14,751 ac	5%

Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.

Next Door

What the Agency Says About the Area

GMU 52: Beginning at the intersection of US 64 and the east boundary of the Tierra Amarilla grant and running north along the eastern boundary of the grant to the Colorado-New Mexico state line, then east along the state line to its intersection with US 285, then south along US 285 to its junction with US 64 at Tres Piedras, then west along US 64 to its intersection with the east boundary of...

Source: NMDGF 2026 NM Game Management Units, layer 0.

▸ 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