New Mexico · Elk · bow only
New Mexico elk hunt ELK-2-203
Unit 52. 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 230 licences on hunt code ELK-2-203 in 2026 and issued 230 — the hunt filled. Among the three pools the state draws separately, 142 nonresident applicants ranked it first and 4 drew it, 2.82%; 359 resident applicants ranked it first and 122 drew it, 33.98%; 84 guided (outfitter) applicants ranked it first and 18 drew it, 21.43%.
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 | 359 | 122 | 33.98% | 798 | 194 | 84.35% |
| 2026 | Nonresident | 142 | 4 | 2.82% | 457 | 13 | 5.65% |
| 2026 | Guided (outfitter) | 84 | 18 | 21.43% | 265 | 23 | 10% |
| 2025 | Resident | 365 | 123 | 33.70% | 740 | 194 | 84.35% |
| 2025 | Nonresident | 160 | 7 | 4.38% | 498 | 13 | 5.65% |
| 2025 | Guided (outfitter) | 88 | 14 | 15.91% | 241 | 23 | 10% |
| 2024 | Resident | 328 | 110 | 33.54% | 756 | 194 | 84.35% |
| 2024 | Nonresident | 152 | 6 | 3.95% | 503 | 13 | 5.65% |
| 2024 | Guided (outfitter) | 68 | 14 | 20.59% | 250 | 23 | 10% |
| 2023 | Resident | 402 | 115 | 28.61% | 845 | 194 | 84.35% |
| 2023 | Nonresident | 154 | 5 | 3.25% | 428 | 13 | 5.65% |
| 2023 | Guided (outfitter) | 67 | 9 | 13.43% | 265 | 23 | 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 | 230 | 230 | 585 | 2,105 |
| 2025 | 230 | 230 | 613 | 2,092 |
| 2024 | 230 | 230 | 548 | 2,057 |
| 2023 | 230 | 230 | 623 | 2,161 |
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