New Mexico Elk · GMU 6A
New Mexico GMU 6A covers 845,619 acres and lies 32 miles north of Bernalillo. 50% of it is public land, mostly national forest (45%) and BLM (4%). A further 43% is tribal land rather than public land. In 2025, 786 people hunted elk here and took 372, a 50% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, ELK-2-214, put up 6 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 192 nonresident first-choice applicants, 5 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
48% Forest Service
845,619 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
- 50%
- Season
- Oct 24–28
- Tags / Apps
- 10 / 95
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- 50%
- Season
- Sep 1–14
- Tags / Apps
- 15 / 93
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- 50%
- Season
- Sep 15–24
- Tags / Apps
- 10 / 229
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- 50%
- Season
- Oct 10–14
- Tags / Apps
- 10 / 77
- If Drawn
- $877
Every License in GMU 6A
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ELK-1-216 Standard | Unit 6A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 | 3% | |
| ELK-1-216 Outfitter | Unit 6A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 | 4% | |
| ELK-1-217 Standard | Unit 6A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 | 6% | |
| ELK-1-217 Outfitter | Unit 6A — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 | 6% | |
| ELK-1-218 Standard | Unit 6A — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Oct. 31-Nov. 4 | not open | |
| ELK-1-218 Outfitter | Unit 6A — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Oct. 31-Nov. 4 | 100% (small sample) | |
| ELK-2-213 Standard | Unit 6A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | <1% | |
| ELK-2-213 Outfitter | Unit 6A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 8% | |
| ELK-2-214 Standard | Unit 6A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 3% | |
| ELK-2-214 Outfitter | Unit 6A — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 4% | |
| ELK-3-215 Standard | Unit 6A — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 10-14 | 2% | |
| ELK-3-215 Outfitter | Unit 6A — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 10-14 | 4% |
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 | 786 | 372 | 50% |
| 2024 | 781 | 388 | 50% |
| 2023 | 777 | 336 | 47% |
| 2022 | 756 | 356 | 43% |
| 2021 | 791 | 324 | 39% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg · rifle · 99 licenses | 83 | 46 | 49% |
| Youth enc. · 50 licenses | 49 | 24 | 52% |
| Youth enc. · 51 licenses | 51 | 35 | 74% |
| Reg · archery · 25 licenses (hunt 1 of 2) | 25 | 10 | 45% |
| Reg · archery · 10 licenses (hunt 2 of 2) | 9 | 1 | 17% |
| Reg · archery · 25 licenses (hunt 2 of 2) | 25 | 10 | 42% |
| Reg · archery · 10 licenses (hunt 1 of 2) | 10 | 3 | 38% |
| Reg · muzzleloader | 14 | 12 | 79% |
| Youth | 17 | 6 | 31% |
| Reg · rifle · 15 licenses | 15 | 12 | 86% |
2025 split: rifle 117 (74%) from 198 hunters, 59%, archery 24 (15%) from 69 hunters, 35%, muzzleloader 18 (11%) from 31 hunters, 58%
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 | 378,458 ac | 45% |
| Tribal | 363,615 ac | 43% |
| BLM | 37,504 ac | 4% |
| State trust land | 2,359 ac | <1% |
| Department of Defense | 2,179 ac | <1% |
| State land | 99 ac | <1% |
| National Park Service | 1 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 61,401 ac | 7% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 6A: Starting at the junction of interstate 25 and US 550 at Bernalillo and running northwest and west along US 550 past San Ysidro to it’s intersection with the boundary of the Zia Indian Reservation, then south, west, and north along the Zia Reservation boundary of the Jemez Indian Reservation, then west, north, and east along Jemez Indian Reservation boundary to it’s intersection with US...
▸ 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