New Mexico · Elk · muzzleloader, crossbow or bow only
New Mexico elk hunt ELK-3-236
Unit 6C. Bag limit mature bull (MB). 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 155 licences on hunt code ELK-3-236 in 2026 and issued 155 — the hunt filled. Among the three pools the state draws separately, 49 nonresident applicants ranked it first and 6 drew it, 12.24%; 215 resident applicants ranked it first and 53 drew it, 24.65%; 35 guided (outfitter) applicants ranked it first and 5 drew it, 14.29%.
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 | 215 | 53 | 24.65% | 617 | 131 | 84.52% |
| 2026 | Nonresident | 49 | 6 | 12.24% | 159 | 9 | 5.81% |
| 2026 | Guided (outfitter) | 35 | 5 | 14.29% | 119 | 15 | 9.67% |
| 2025 | Resident | 234 | 57 | 24.36% | 572 | 131 | 84.51% |
| 2025 | Nonresident | 55 | 7 | 12.73% | 153 | 9 | 5.81% |
| 2025 | Guided (outfitter) | 33 | 10 | 30.30% | 69 | 15 | 9.68% |
| 2024 | Resident | 238 | 71 | 29.83% | 594 | 131 | 84.52% |
| 2024 | Nonresident | 65 | 5 | 7.69% | 214 | 9 | 5.81% |
| 2024 | Guided (outfitter) | 27 | 2 | 7.41% | 107 | 15 | 9.67% |
| 2023 | Resident | 211 | 51 | 24.17% | 507 | 131 | 84.52% |
| 2023 | Nonresident | 62 | 3 | 4.84% | 154 | 9 | 5.81% |
| 2023 | Guided (outfitter) | 13 | 1 | 7.69% | 76 | 15 | 9.67% |
| 2022 | Resident | 229 | 93 | 40.61% | 918 | 210 | 84% |
| 2022 | Nonresident | 117 | 7 | 5.98% | 392 | 15 | 6% |
| 2022 | Guided (outfitter) | 83 | 7 | 8.43% | 363 | 25 | 10% |
| 2021 | Resident | 183 | 57 | 31.15% | 949 | 210 | 84% |
| 2021 | Nonresident | 102 | 5 | 4.90% | 325 | 15 | 6% |
| 2021 | Guided (outfitter) | 70 | 5 | 7.14% | 388 | 25 | 10% |
| 2020 | Resident | 174 | 72 | 41.38% | 793 | 210 | 84% |
| 2020 | Nonresident | 74 | 6 | 8.11% | 285 | 15 | 6% |
| 2020 | Guided (outfitter) | 90 | 12 | 13.33% | 377 | 25 | 10% |
| 2019 | Resident | 187 | 73 | 39.04% | 814 | 210 | — |
| 2019 | Nonresident | 78 | 6 | 7.69% | 249 | 15 | — |
| 2019 | Guided (outfitter) | 47 | 5 | 10.64% | 330 | 25 | — |
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 | 155 | 155 | 299 | 1,194 |
| 2025 | 155 | 155 | 322 | 1,116 |
| 2024 | 155 | 155 | 330 | 1,245 |
| 2023 | 155 | 155 | 286 | 1,023 |
| 2022 | 250 | 250 | 429 | 2,102 |
| 2021 | 250 | 250 | 355 | 2,017 |
| 2020 | 250 | 250 | 338 | 1,793 |
| 2019 | 250 | 250 | 312 | 1,705 |
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