New Mexico · Elk · bow only
New Mexico elk hunt ELK-2-194
Unit 51. Bag limit either sex (ES). 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 180 licences on hunt code ELK-2-194 in 2026 and issued 180 — the hunt filled. Among the three pools the state draws separately, 118 nonresident applicants ranked it first and 5 drew it, 4.24%; 372 resident applicants ranked it first and 90 drew it, 24.19%; 103 guided (outfitter) applicants ranked it first and 9 drew it, 8.74%.
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 | 372 | 90 | 24.19% | 639 | 152 | 84.44% |
| 2026 | Nonresident | 118 | 5 | 4.24% | 373 | 10 | 5.56% |
| 2026 | Guided (outfitter) | 103 | 9 | 8.74% | 263 | 18 | 10% |
| 2025 | Resident | 415 | 121 | 29.16% | 705 | 152 | 84.44% |
| 2025 | Nonresident | 174 | 6 | 3.45% | 517 | 10 | 5.56% |
| 2025 | Guided (outfitter) | 93 | 8 | 8.60% | 246 | 18 | 10% |
| 2024 | Resident | 385 | 112 | 29.09% | 759 | 152 | 84.44% |
| 2024 | Nonresident | 169 | 6 | 3.55% | 512 | 10 | 5.56% |
| 2024 | Guided (outfitter) | 128 | 15 | 11.72% | 203 | 18 | 10% |
| 2023 | Resident | 432 | 115 | 26.62% | 743 | 152 | 84.44% |
| 2023 | Nonresident | 117 | 1 | 0.85% | 458 | 10 | 5.56% |
| 2023 | Guided (outfitter) | 82 | 17 | 20.73% | 172 | 18 | 10% |
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 | 180 | 180 | 593 | 1,868 |
| 2025 | 180 | 180 | 682 | 2,150 |
| 2024 | 180 | 180 | 682 | 2,156 |
| 2023 | 180 | 180 | 631 | 2,004 |
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