New Mexico draw deadlines are upon us!

New Mexico draw deadlines are upon us!

Mar 12, 2025

It’s that time of year again, to hurry up, then wait.

Whether you apply for hunting tags when the draw opens (like me), or in the hours before it closes, it always feels like a dash. But then, regardless if you’re a tortoise or a hare, the long wait begins.

Now is the time to get moving because the deadline for New Mexico big game hunts — elk, deer, Barbary sheep, oryx, bighorn sheep, ibex, javelina, pronghorn — is March 19. I want to discuss some tips and tricks, espoused by the good people at the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, to help you along the way.

But before we start, you may ask, who is this guy?

My name is Matt, and I am first and foremost a veteran criminal justice reporter at the Albuquerque Journal. And before I continue on my first entry as a Journal Outside contributor, I must be transparent: I haven’t filled a tag since I killed an oryx at 12 on a once-in-a-lifetime youth hunt.

I am a nature fanatic who recently (2023) decided to try to harvest my own meat from this beautiful backyard of prickly mesas and alpine forests. Since then, I have drawn thrice — two archery deer tags and one pronghorn rifle tag.

Although I have yet to tag out, aside from a grouse I took with a blunt arrow and cooked over a campfire, I have learned so much about how to hunt and, subsequently, how to draw.

Nothing in life is a sure thing, outside of death, taxes and the benefit of a tree saw when hunting Carson National Forest backcountry. But using state Game and Fish harvest and draw odds reports can give you an edge.

My experience as an investigative reporter with a love for data has helped me in this regard. Here are some tips that can help you.

• Play the odds and don’t use destination hunts for every choice. Burn your first choice on the highly-desired, like a bow hunt for deer in the Sandias or an either-sex elk rifle tag in Lincoln National Forest. Use locales with more tags and fewer applicants, like the Gila National Forest, for second and third choices.
• In addition to weighing the odds of drawing a particular unit, use harvest reports to inform which three locations/date ranges to use. I usually try to choose units that have at least 20% or higher success rate, especially when the number of tags issued is high. I like to balance the odds of drawing and harvesting to find the best combination.
• While you want to up your chances, don’t forsake enjoyment. If we are going to use valuable time off, fill our gas tanks and buy or fix gear, we should be going to places we want to be. If you enjoy trees and crisp air, don’t feel the need to settle for scrubby canyons and vice versa.
• If you have doubts or questions about a particular unit or game animal, call Game and Fish to talk to a conservation officer. As the saying goes around our office, “it never hurts to ask.”

To enter the draw, visit wildlife.dgf.nm.gov.

I hope these tips bring you (and me) a successful draw come April, and your talents can ensure a successful, ethical harvest when the long wait is over.