New Mexico Antelope (Pronghorn) · GMU 18

New Mexico GMU 18 spans 1,564,967 acres, centered 31 miles east of Socorro. 72% of it is public land, mostly BLM (40%) and state trust land (22%). In 2025, 95 people hunted pronghorn here and took 56, a 59% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, ANT-1-132, put up 1 tag (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 219 nonresident first-choice applicants, 1 of whom drew.

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

Tags, 2026
8

6 licenses · NR capped at 6%

Applicants
437

first choice, NR

Hunter Success
59%

2025, all licenses

Public Land
72%

55% BLM

Size
2,445 mi²

1,564,967 acres

Rio Communities Capitan Ruidoso Peralta 18
59%hunter success 2025 · 95 hunters, 56 pronghorn

Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.

Every License in GMU 18

90–100% 50–89% 10–49% 1–9% under 1% fewer than 5 tags: one applicant swings it
ANT-1-132 Standard <1% (small sample)
Outfitter 0% (small sample)
ANT-1-133 Standard 0% (small sample)
Outfitter 4% (small sample)
ANT-2-131 Standard 0% (small sample)
Outfitter 0% (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 $527 ($517 to apply) · Outfitter $527 ($517 to apply). Closes Mar 17, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

Harvest

Year Hunters Pronghorn Success
2025 95 56 59%
2024 104 57 55%
2023 80 65 53%
2022 92 67 53%
2025 by LicenseHuntersPronghornSuccess
Reg · rifle · 27 licenses 25 15 60%
Reg · rifle · 19 licenses 19 16 83%
Reg · archery 1 1 100%

2025 split: rifle 31 (97%) from 44 hunters, 70%, archery 1 (3%)

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 Pronghorn Harvest Report; NMDGF 2024-2025 Pronghorn Harvest Report; NMDGF 2023-2024 Pronghorn Harvest Report.

The Ground

BLM 621,749 ac 40%
State trust land 343,727 ac 22%
National Wildlife Refuge 140,461 ac 9%
Department of Defense 11,530 ac <1%
State land 5,054 ac <1%
National Park Service 594 ac <1%
Private or other non-public land 441,849 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 18: Beginning at the junction of US 380 and I-25 at San Antonio and running north along I-25 to its junction with US 60 at Bernardo, then east along US 60 to NM 55 at Mountainair, then south and southeast along NM 55 to its junction with US 54, then south along US 54 to its intersection with the Lincoln-Otero county line, then west along the county line to the east boundary of White Sands...

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

▸ Sources 9
  1. NMDGF 2026 Big Game Drawing Odds Complete Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  2. NMDGF 2026-2027 Draw Hunt License Fees / Draw… fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  3. NMDGF 2026-2027 Over-the-Counter License Fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  4. NMDGF 2025-2026 Pronghorn Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  5. NMDGF 2024-2025 Pronghorn Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  6. NMDGF 2023-2024 Pronghorn Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  7. NMDGF 2022-2023 Pronghorn Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  8. NMDGF 2026 NM Game Management Units, layer 0 boundary, area description, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
  9. 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.

Report an error on this page

Every report is checked against the agency source before we change anything.

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 pronghorn hunts