New Mexico Elk · GMU 53
New Mexico GMU 53 covers 438,088 acres and lies 6 miles south-east of Questa and 18 miles north of Taos. 52% of it is public land, mostly national forest (36%) and BLM (9%). A further 23% is tribal land rather than public land. In 2025, 731 people hunted elk here and took 156, a 20% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, ELK-1-389, put up 7 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 23 nonresident first-choice applicants, 3 of whom drew.
No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.
14 licenses · NR capped at 6%
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
49% Forest Service
438,088 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 53
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ELK-1-388 Standard | Unit 53: excluding Cerro portion — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 | 13% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-388 Outfitter | Unit 53: excluding Cerro portion — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 | 100% | |
| ELK-1-389 Standard | Unit 53: excluding Cerro portion — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 | 13% | |
| ELK-1-389 Outfitter | Unit 53: excluding Cerro portion — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 | 100% | |
| ELK-1-390 Standard | Unit 53: excluding Cerro portion — antlerless — Any Legal — Nov. 14-18 | not open | |
| ELK-1-390 Outfitter | Unit 53: excluding Cerro portion — antlerless — Any Legal — Nov. 14-18 | not open | |
| ELK-1-391 Standard | Unit 53: excluding Cerro portion — antlerless — Any Legal — Nov. 21-25 | not open | |
| ELK-1-391 Outfitter | Unit 53: excluding Cerro portion — antlerless — Any Legal — Nov. 21-25 | not open | |
| ELK-2-385 Standard | Unit 53 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 11% (small sample) | |
| ELK-2-385 Outfitter | Unit 53 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 100% | |
| ELK-2-386 Standard | Unit 53 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 5% (small sample) | |
| ELK-2-386 Outfitter | Unit 53 — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 100% | |
| ELK-3-387 Standard | Unit 53: excluding Cerro portion — either sex — Muzzle - Excluding — Oct. 10-14 | 0% (small sample) | |
| ELK-3-387 Outfitter | Unit 53: excluding Cerro portion — either sex — Muzzle - Excluding — Oct. 10-14 | 100% |
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 | 731 | 156 | 20% |
| 2024 | 730 | 108 | 14% |
| 2023 | 704 | 94 | 14% |
| 2022 | 773 | 105 | 12% |
| 2021 | 779 | 164 | 19% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg · 94 licenses (hunt 1 of 2) | 83 | 13 | 18% |
| Reg · 94 licenses (hunt 2 of 2) | 78 | 27 | 33% |
| Youth enc. (hunt 1 of 2) | 51 | 12 | 24% |
| Youth enc. (hunt 2 of 2) | 51 | 9 | 20% |
| Reg · 10 licenses | 8 | 4 | 38% |
2025 split: rifle 65 (100%) from 271 hunters, 24%
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 | 158,711 ac | 36% |
| Tribal | 99,756 ac | 23% |
| BLM | 38,572 ac | 9% |
| State trust land | 28,966 ac | 7% |
| State land | 190 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 111,890 ac | 26% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 53: Beginning at the intersection of NM 567 and the Rio Grande and of NM 567 and the Rio Grande and running north along the Rio Grande running north along the Rio Grande to the NM/CO state line, then east to the NM/CO state line, then east along the state line to its junction with along the state line to its junction with NM 522, then south along NM 522 to NM 522, then south along NM 522...
▸ 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