New Mexico · Elk · muzzleloader, crossbow or bow only
New Mexico elk hunt ELK-3-268
Unit 15. 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 245 licences on hunt code ELK-3-268 in 2026 and issued 245 — the hunt filled. Among the three pools the state draws separately, 66 nonresident applicants ranked it first and 3 drew it, 4.55%; 204 resident applicants ranked it first and 66 drew it, 32.35%; 29 guided (outfitter) applicants ranked it first and 1 drew it, 3.45%.
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 | 204 | 66 | 32.35% | 970 | 206 | 84.08% |
| 2026 | Nonresident | 66 | 3 | 4.55% | 371 | 15 | 6.12% |
| 2026 | Guided (outfitter) | 29 | 1 | 3.45% | 310 | 24 | 9.8% |
| 2025 | Resident | 161 | 55 | 34.16% | 982 | 206 | 84.08% |
| 2025 | Nonresident | 75 | 3 | 4.00% | 397 | 15 | 6.12% |
| 2025 | Guided (outfitter) | 26 | 1 | 3.85% | 265 | 24 | 9.8% |
| 2024 | Resident | 226 | 65 | 28.76% | 1,064 | 206 | 84.08% |
| 2024 | Nonresident | 99 | 4 | 4.04% | 450 | 15 | 6.12% |
| 2024 | Guided (outfitter) | 39 | 3 | 7.69% | 301 | 24 | 9.8% |
| 2023 | Resident | 205 | 63 | 30.73% | 1,045 | 206 | 84.08% |
| 2023 | Nonresident | 82 | 5 | 6.10% | 442 | 15 | 6.12% |
| 2023 | Guided (outfitter) | 6 | 1 | 16.67% | 252 | 24 | 9.8% |
| 2022 | Resident | 76 | 14 | 18.42% | 233 | 59 | 84.29% |
| 2022 | Nonresident | 28 | 2 | 7.14% | 109 | 4 | 5.72% |
| 2022 | Guided (outfitter) | 13 | 5 | 38.46% | 57 | 7 | 10% |
| 2021 | Resident | 95 | 26 | 27.37% | 293 | 59 | 84.29% |
| 2021 | Nonresident | 42 | 0 | 0.00% | 133 | 4 | 5.71% |
| 2021 | Guided (outfitter) | 11 | 3 | 27.27% | 40 | 7 | 10% |
| 2020 | Resident | 103 | 20 | 19.42% | 274 | 59 | 84.29% |
| 2020 | Nonresident | 26 | 1 | 3.85% | 91 | 4 | 5.71% |
| 2020 | Guided (outfitter) | 20 | 2 | 10.00% | 44 | 7 | 10% |
| 2019 | Resident | 75 | 16 | 21.33% | 220 | 59 | — |
| 2019 | Nonresident | 15 | 1 | 6.67% | 96 | 4 | — |
| 2019 | Guided (outfitter) | 9 | 2 | 22.22% | 42 | 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 | 245 | 245 | 299 | 1,950 |
| 2025 | 245 | 245 | 262 | 1,906 |
| 2024 | 245 | 245 | 364 | 2,179 |
| 2023 | 245 | 245 | 293 | 2,032 |
| 2022 | 70 | 70 | 117 | 516 |
| 2021 | 70 | 70 | 148 | 614 |
| 2020 | 70 | 70 | 149 | 558 |
| 2019 | 70 | 70 | 99 | 457 |
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