New Mexico Elk · GMU 6C
New Mexico GMU 6C covers 777,774 acres and lies 14 miles south-west of Española and 24 miles north-west of Santa Fe. 66% of it is public land, mostly national forest (49%) and BLM (7%). A further 21% is tribal land rather than public land. In 2025, 958 people hunted elk here and took 321, a 37% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, ELK-1-237, put up 6 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 66 nonresident first-choice applicants, 2 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
56% Forest Service
777,774 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
- 37%
- Season
- Oct 17–21
- Tags / Apps
- 10 / 94
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- 37%
- Season
- Oct 24–28
- Tags / Apps
- 10 / 38
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- 37%
- Season
- Sep 1–14
- Tags / Apps
- 15 / 13
- If Drawn
- $877
- Success
- 37%
- Season
- Oct 10–14
- Tags / Apps
- 15 / 35
- If Drawn
- $877
Every License in GMU 6C
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ELK-1-237 Standard | Unit 6C — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 | 3% | |
| ELK-1-237 Outfitter | Unit 6C — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 17-21 | 7% | |
| ELK-1-238 Standard | Unit 6C — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 | 13% | |
| ELK-1-238 Outfitter | Unit 6C — mature bull — Any Legal — Oct. 24-28 | 13% | |
| ELK-1-239 Standard | Unit 6C — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Oct. 31-Nov. 4 | not open | |
| ELK-1-239 Outfitter | Unit 6C — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Oct. 31-Nov. 4 | 100% (small sample) | |
| ELK-1-240 Standard | Unit 6C — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Nov. 21-25 | not open | |
| ELK-1-240 Outfitter | Unit 6C — antlerless — Any Legal - NM — Nov. 21-25 | 100% (small sample) | |
| ELK-2-234 Standard | Unit 6C — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 14% | |
| ELK-2-234 Outfitter | Unit 6C — either sex — Bow — Sept. 1-14 | 100% | |
| ELK-2-235 Standard | Unit 6C — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 9% | |
| ELK-2-235 Outfitter | Unit 6C — either sex — Bow — Sept. 15-24 | 0% | |
| ELK-3-236 Standard | Unit 6C — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 10-14 | 12% | |
| ELK-3-236 Outfitter | Unit 6C — mature bull — Muzzle — Oct. 10-14 | 14% |
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 | 958 | 321 | 37% |
| 2024 | 934 | 334 | 38% |
| 2023 | 973 | 359 | 35% |
| 2022 | 973 | 325 | 33% |
| 2021 | 968 | 350 | 34% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg · rifle · 110 licenses (hunt 2 of 2) | 90 | 31 | 30% |
| Reg · rifle · 110 licenses (hunt 1 of 2) | 99 | 29 | 29% |
| Youth enc. (hunt 1 of 2) | 49 | 20 | 47% |
| Youth enc. (hunt 2 of 2) | 46 | 28 | 58% |
| Reg · archery · 15 licenses | 15 | 1 | 8% |
| Reg · archery · 14 licenses | 13 | 3 | 25% |
| Reg · muzzleloader | 23 | 8 | 38% |
| Reg · rifle · 50 licenses | 46 | 8 | 18% |
2025 split: rifle 116 (91%) from 330 hunters, 35%, archery 4 (3%) from 28 hunters, 14%, muzzleloader 8 (6%) from 23 hunters, 35%
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 | 382,061 ac | 49% |
| Tribal | 165,735 ac | 21% |
| BLM | 51,973 ac | 7% |
| National Park Service | 33,839 ac | 4% |
| Other public | 26,305 ac | 3% |
| State trust land | 19,269 ac | 2% |
| State land | 149 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 98,439 ac | 13% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office 2023 BLM_Surface_Management_2023.
What the Agency Says About the Area
GMU 6C: Starting at the junction of NM 96 and forest road (FR) 103 east of Gallina and running south along FR 103 to it’s junction with FR 117, then south along FR 117 to it’s junction with FR 527 (Pipeline road), then east along FR 527 to it’s junction with the west boundary of the Valles Caldera National Preserve, then north, east, south and west along the boundary of the preserve to it’s...
▸ 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