Hunting News
The latest hunting news and press releases, including important reminders for the current hunting season, from the New Mexico Department of Wildlife. See additional wildlife news in Conservation News. Department-wide news can be found under Home → NMDOW News.
2025 New Mexico Outdoor Adventures Show Opens Feb. 14
2025 New Mexico Outdoor Adventures Show Opens Feb. 14 Feb. 14-16, 2025 • Manuel Lujan Building • Expo NM Love to get out? The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is pleased to invite you to the 2025 Outdoor Adventures Show, sponsored by Ram Motors RV & Truck Center, Waypoint Vehicle Upfitters, Ducks Unlimited, The Archery Shoppe and the City of Albuquerque Economic Development Department! The show takes place Friday, Feb. 14 through Sunday, Feb. 16, in the Manuel Lujan Building at Expo New Mexico in Albuquerque. Admission to the show will be $5 for adults or free to youth age 17 and younger, as well as anyone who holds a valid New Mexico hunting and fishing license. The popular calling contests are back, with the addition of a new duck-calling contest. The contests begin at noon Saturday with the turkey-calling contest, sponsored [...]
ATTENTION 2025-2026 Draw Applicants
The Department of Game and Fish strongly recommends that all draw applicants for 2025-26 hunts verify their contact information and provide a valid e-mail address and phone number in their online licensing system account.Please contact the Department at 888-248-6866 if you need assistance updating or creating your account.White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) and Fort Bliss:WSMR and Fort Bliss use the contact information you provide in your account to communicate specific hunt information necessary if you are successful, including payment of the mandatory access fee.Don't miss out on a potential once-in-a-lifetime hunting opportunity because we can't contact you!!!The Department strongly recommends that you DO NOT wait until the last minute to provide your documents. Due to the influx of draw applications at the end of the application period, the Department cannot guarantee that your documents will be entered into the system if they are submitted after March 14, 2025.The Department further strongly recommends that hunters [...]
Public Meeting: Citizen Advisory Committee to Meet July 15
LAS CRUCES – The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (Department) has scheduled a public meeting with the Habitat Stamp Citizen Advisory Committee. Habitat restoration project opportunities that have been jointly developed by the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and the Department will be presented. Members of the public are invited to attend this hybrid public meeting. An agenda will be posted on the Habitat Stamp website prior to the meeting. Monday July 15, 2024, Las Cruces, 9 a.m. Attend in person at SW Area Office, 2715 Northrise Drive, Las Cruces, NM 88011 Register in advance to attend virtually A meeting agenda along with information about how to attend virtually will be available on the Department webpage, https://wildlife.dgf.nm.gov/conservation/public-land-user-stamp/. Comments can be provided by mail: New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, Attn: Public Land User Stamp, 1 Wildlife Way, Santa Fe, NM 87507; or by email, PublicLandUserStamp@dgf.nm.gov, or in person at the [...]
Youth Encouragement Elk License sale begins July 10
SANTA FE – Youth hunters will be eligible to purchase one of 1,960 antlerless Youth Encouragement Elk Licenses through the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish’s Online License System starting at 10 a.m. MDT, July 10. The sale is designed to provide additional youth hunting opportunities and includes 1,570 licenses for any legal sporting arm and 390 licenses for muzzleloader. Licenses will be sold online only on a first-come, first-served basis. To purchase a license, customers will need to log into their Online License System account. Eligibility and requirements: For the first 14 days, the sale is open only to resident youth who have applied in the current license year for one or more draw hunts for deer, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, Barbary sheep, oryx or ibex and were not successful for any hunt. Please note that the purchase of a leftover draw hunt does not count as a successful [...]
CORRECTION: Leftover draw licenses on sale today June 26
SANTA FE – A total of 630 deer licenses left over from the 2024-2025 big-game draw will go on sale at 10 a.m. MDT today, June 26, through the Department’s Online License System. This first-come, first-served sale will only be open to New Mexico residents during the first 24 hours. If any licenses remain after the first 24 hours, the sale will be opened to nonresidents at 10 a.m. June 27. CORRECTION for youth hunters: Purchasing a leftover license WILL NOT render youth hunters ineligible to purchase a youth encouragement elk license for the first 14 days of the upcoming sale in July. To buy a leftover license, hunters must possess a 2024-2025 Game Hunting or Game Hunting and Fishing license. Hunters may buy the Game Hunting license, the Habitat Stamp and the Habitat Management Access Validation by logging into their account and clicking the Over-The-Counter (OTC) Licenses, Permits and Stamps link under License Sales [...]