New Mexico · Deer · bow only
New Mexico deer hunt DER-2-390
Unit 51A. Bag limit fork-antlered deer (FAD). Of the people who ranked this hunt first, how many drew it — year by year, and separately for each of the three pools New Mexico draws. Every figure comes from a Department of Wildlife report linked at the foot of this page.
What the 2026 draw did
New Mexico offered 65 licences on hunt code DER-2-390 in 2026 and issued 65 — the hunt filled. Among the three pools the state draws separately, 13 nonresident applicants ranked it first and 2 drew it, 15.38%; 152 resident applicants ranked it first and 42 drew it, 27.63%; 11 guided (outfitter) applicants ranked it first and 5 drew it, 45.45%.
First-choice draw rate, by pool and year
| Year | Pool | Ranked it first | Drew on first choice | First-choice draw rate | Ranked it 2nd or 3rd | Licences to this pool | Share of the quota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Resident | 152 | 42 | 27.63% | 271 | 55 | 84.62% |
| 2026 | Nonresident | 13 | 2 | 15.38% | 21 | 4 | 6.15% |
| 2026 | Guided (outfitter) | 11 | 5 | 45.45% | 16 | 6 | 9.23% |
| 2025 | Resident | 168 | 38 | 22.62% | 206 | 59 | 90.77% |
| 2025 | Nonresident | 14 | 4 | 28.57% | 14 | 4 | 6.15% |
| 2025 | Guided (outfitter) | 2 | 2 | 100.00% | 4 | 2 | 3.08% |
| 2024 | Resident | 165 | 38 | 23.03% | 288 | 58 | 89.23% |
| 2024 | Nonresident | 24 | 4 | 16.67% | 37 | 4 | 6.15% |
| 2024 | Guided (outfitter) | 3 | 3 | 100.00% | 4 | 3 | 4.62% |
| 2023 | Resident | 182 | 46 | 25.27% | 225 | 55 | 84.62% |
| 2023 | Nonresident | 17 | 4 | 23.53% | 15 | 4 | 6.15% |
| 2023 | Guided (outfitter) | 6 | 6 | 100.00% | 3 | 6 | 9.23% |
| 2022 | Resident | 93 | 49 | 52.69% | 144 | 80 | 88.89% |
| 2022 | Nonresident | 30 | 5 | 16.67% | 21 | 5 | 5.56% |
| 2022 | Guided (outfitter) | 4 | 4 | 100.00% | 1 | 5 | 5.56% |
| 2021 | Resident | 101 | 53 | 52.48% | 176 | 85 | 94.44% |
| 2021 | Nonresident | 14 | 4 | 28.57% | 17 | 5 | 5.56% |
| 2021 | Guided (outfitter) | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| 2020 | Resident | 88 | 52 | 59.09% | 124 | 85 | 94.44% |
| 2020 | Nonresident | 13 | 5 | 38.46% | 12 | 5 | 5.56% |
| 2020 | Guided (outfitter) | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| 2019 | Resident | 99 | 55 | 55.56% | 128 | 85 | — |
| 2019 | Nonresident | 6 | 4 | 66.67% | 4 | 5 | — |
| 2019 | Guided (outfitter) | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
Share of the quota is the department's own R% / NR% / O% column: this pool's share of the licences offered. It is an allocation split set by state law — a minimum of 84% resident, 10% outfitted, 6% nonresident — and not a chance of drawing. It reads 100% on any hunt residents took in full. It is shown because the department publishes it and a reader will meet it elsewhere, not because it answers the question this page is about.
The first-choice draw rate, year by year
One strip per pool, because the three are drawn separately under different shares and a single averaged line would hide the only distinction most readers are here for. Each figure is a record of what that year's draw did. None of it forecasts the next one.
Rounded to whole percentages here; the table above carries them to two decimals. A dash means nobody in that pool ranked this hunt first that year.
Licences offered against licences issued
These are different numbers and the department publishes both. A hunt can fail to fill, and 35 of the 893 hunts in the 2026 report did.
| Year | Licences offered | Licences issued | Applicants who ranked it first | Applicants in total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 65 | 65 | 176 | 484 |
| 2025 | 65 | 65 | 184 | 408 |
| 2024 | 65 | 65 | 192 | 521 |
| 2023 | 65 | 65 | 205 | 448 |
| 2022 | 90 | 90 | 127 | 293 |
| 2021 | 90 | 90 | 115 | 309 |
| 2020 | 90 | 90 | 101 | 237 |
| 2019 | 90 | 90 | 105 | 237 |
Applicants in total counts everyone who ranked this hunt anywhere in their three choices, across all three pools. It is a measure of demand, not of competition for a first-choice licence.
Sources for this hunt
- 2026CompleteReport.xlsx — New Mexico Department of Wildlife, published 2026-04-13, fetched 2026-08-31
- 2025CompleteReport.xlsx — New Mexico Department of Wildlife, published 2025-04-09, fetched 2026-08-31
- 2024CompleteReport.xlsx — New Mexico Department of Wildlife, published 2024-04-09, fetched 2026-08-31
- 2023-odds_corrected_CN.xlsx — New Mexico Department of Wildlife, published 2023-04-11, fetched 2026-08-31
- 2022-Complete-Report.xlsx — New Mexico Department of Wildlife, published 2022-04-12, fetched 2026-08-31
- 2021-Big-Game-Drawing-Odds-Complete-Report.xlsx — New Mexico Department of Wildlife, published 2021-04-14, fetched 2026-08-31
- 2020-Drawing-Odds-Complete-Report.xlsx — New Mexico Department of Wildlife, published 2020-08-03, fetched 2026-08-31
- 2019-Drawing-Odds-Complete-Report.xlsx — New Mexico Department of Wildlife, published 2019-06-26, fetched 2026-08-31