New Mexico · Elk · muzzleloader, crossbow or bow only
New Mexico elk hunt ELK-3-360
Unit 36. 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 140 licences on hunt code ELK-3-360 in 2026 and issued 140 — the hunt filled. Among the three pools the state draws separately, 188 nonresident applicants ranked it first and 6 drew it, 3.19%; 425 resident applicants ranked it first and 87 drew it, 20.47%; 111 guided (outfitter) applicants ranked it first and 5 drew it, 4.50%.
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 | 425 | 87 | 20.47% | 691 | 118 | 84.29% |
| 2026 | Nonresident | 188 | 6 | 3.19% | 446 | 8 | 5.71% |
| 2026 | Guided (outfitter) | 111 | 5 | 4.50% | 305 | 14 | 10% |
| 2025 | Resident | 445 | 77 | 17.30% | 692 | 118 | 84.29% |
| 2025 | Nonresident | 198 | 3 | 1.52% | 378 | 8 | 5.71% |
| 2025 | Guided (outfitter) | 97 | 10 | 10.31% | 236 | 14 | 10% |
| 2024 | Resident | 471 | 84 | 17.83% | 777 | 118 | 84.29% |
| 2024 | Nonresident | 208 | 3 | 1.44% | 404 | 8 | 5.71% |
| 2024 | Guided (outfitter) | 171 | 6 | 3.51% | 285 | 14 | 10% |
| 2023 | Resident | 449 | 88 | 19.60% | 731 | 118 | 84.29% |
| 2023 | Nonresident | 165 | 2 | 1.21% | 401 | 8 | 5.71% |
| 2023 | Guided (outfitter) | 153 | 9 | 5.88% | 252 | 14 | 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 | 140 | 140 | 724 | 2,166 |
| 2025 | 140 | 140 | 740 | 2,046 |
| 2024 | 140 | 140 | 850 | 2,316 |
| 2023 | 140 | 140 | 767 | 2,151 |
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