New Mexico · Elk · bow only
New Mexico elk hunt ELK-2-280
Unit 16B/22. 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 165 licences on hunt code ELK-2-280 in 2026 and issued 165 — the hunt filled. Among the three pools the state draws separately, 260 nonresident applicants ranked it first and 5 drew it, 1.92%; 236 resident applicants ranked it first and 94 drew it, 39.83%; 64 guided (outfitter) applicants ranked it first and 4 drew it, 6.25%.
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 | 236 | 94 | 39.83% | 404 | 139 | 84.24% |
| 2026 | Nonresident | 260 | 5 | 1.92% | 499 | 10 | 6.06% |
| 2026 | Guided (outfitter) | 64 | 4 | 6.25% | 162 | 16 | 9.7% |
| 2025 | Resident | 218 | 74 | 33.94% | 443 | 139 | 84.24% |
| 2025 | Nonresident | 270 | 6 | 2.22% | 505 | 10 | 6.06% |
| 2025 | Guided (outfitter) | 67 | 7 | 10.45% | 144 | 16 | 9.7% |
| 2024 | Resident | 233 | 69 | 29.61% | 493 | 139 | 84.24% |
| 2024 | Nonresident | 268 | 10 | 3.73% | 512 | 10 | 6.06% |
| 2024 | Guided (outfitter) | 90 | 8 | 8.89% | 149 | 16 | 9.7% |
| 2023 | Resident | 233 | 82 | 35.19% | 514 | 139 | 84.24% |
| 2023 | Nonresident | 277 | 7 | 2.53% | 543 | 10 | 6.06% |
| 2023 | Guided (outfitter) | 150 | 7 | 4.67% | 187 | 16 | 9.7% |
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 | 165 | 165 | 560 | 1,625 |
| 2025 | 165 | 165 | 555 | 1,647 |
| 2024 | 165 | 165 | 591 | 1,745 |
| 2023 | 165 | 165 | 660 | 1,904 |
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