New Mexico Hunting Information Regulations

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New Mexico Hunting Regulations

Always check the New Mexico Dept of Game & Fish website for complete hunting regulations, rules and information at: http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/

It's important to understand that New Mexico's big game drawings are subject to a quota system for most species (except Oryx, Ibex and Bighorn Sheep). In accordance with state law, the drawing attempts to distribute 78% of the licenses/permits for each hunt to New Mexico residents, 12% to nonresidents who have contracted with an outfitter and 10% to nonresidents who haven't contracted with an outfitter. New Mexico does NOT grant preference to applicants who were unsuccessful in previous drawings.

Consult the drawing odds report on the New Mexico Game & Fish website. This report contains all the information regarding the previous year's drawing you could ever want. Compare the number of applicants in your drawing pool with the number successfully drawn to come up with an approximation of your chances to draw a specific hunt.

Scout different areas and consult maps to find out how much public land is accessible within the unit(s) you want to hunt. Talk to other hunters. Call the local conservation officer well in advance of applying to check the current status of your preferred unit(s).

Consider how hard you're willing to work to harvest an animal. Most conservation officers will tell you the further get from your truck, the better your chances will be. Some areas contain extremely rough terrain that may deter others from applying. If you're willing to put forth the extra effort, some units you might not have thought of can offer rewarding hunts.

A random computer program shuffles all the applications like a deck of cards into a drawing sequence. The order your application lies in the sequence ultimately determines whether you'll be successful or not. When an application is drawn, the system attempts to distribute licenses/permits for the first hunt choice, subject to the quotas described above. If the drawing pool for the first hunt choice is already filled, the computer will try to assign the second hunt choice for that application and then the third choice. If the licenses/permits have been distributed, or there aren't enough to fulfill the application (for example, if there are four unguided nonresident applicants, but only three licenses/permits remaining to fill the 10% quota), the system will not issue a license(s), and will move on to the next application.

If you don't draw a tag New Mexico does have a landowner tag program. Tags may be ranch only or unit wide. Outfitters will commonly have access to such tags for their hunters. Costs vary greatly based on overall market demand due to species and the ranch or unit's trophy quality.