New Mexico's 2022 barbary sheep, ibex, oryx application overview

Jump to: NEW FOR 2022 State Information Draw System Oryx Breakdown Ibex Breakdown Barbary Sheep Breakdown

Note: The online application deadline for New Mexico Barbary sheep, bighorn sheep, deer, elk, ibex, javelina, antelope and oryx is March 16, 2022 by 5 p.m. MST. Apply online here.

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Noteworthy for 2022

• Electronic tag (e-tag) option for all big game: 
  • Hunters may choose the e-tag option when purchasing or applying for any big game or turkey hunts. You will not receive a carcass tag if you choose this option. Hunters who choose to e-tag will be required to download the New Mexico e-tag app on their phone, upload their license and carry their phone in the field. A printed license and/or carcass tag are not required, but the animal must still be physically tagged.
• Purchase 2022 game hunting license through draw application:
  • Draw applicants purchasing 2022 game hunting licenses to apply for draw hunts must click "Draw Hunt Applications" in the main menu and purchase the license as part of the application process. Do not click "License Sales."
• Draw refunds:
  • Draw license fee refunds for unsuccessful applicants will be processed shortly after draw results are released in April. Applications paid by credit card will be refunded directly to the credit card used for the transaction within 10 business days. Applications paid by cash will be refunded by check by the end of May. Game hunting license and stamp purchases will not be refunded.
• Party applications:
  • If you are applying as a party, check the table “minimum number of licenses to apply” below to ensure that there will be enough licenses for the hunts you apply for to cover every applicant on the party application.
• Youth hunters:
  • New Mexico offers some youth only hunts. You can explore the odds of those within your INSIDER account. The youth hunting license is only $15 and there is no minimum age to apply.

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State Information

View important information and an overview of the New Mexico rules/regulations, the draw system, permit and license fees and an interactive boundary line map on our State Profile. You can also view the species profiles to access historical and statistical data to help you find trophy areas.

New Mexico State Profile Oryx Profile Ibex Profile Barbary Sheep Profile GOHUNT Maps Draw Odds Filtering 2.0

Important dates and information

• The deadline to apply is March 16, 2022 at 5 p.m. MST. Apply online here.
• Applicants can also apply via telephone by calling (888) 248-6866. 
• Results will be available online on or shortly before April 27, 2022.
• The draw is completely random. There are no bonus or preference points.
• Applicants must purchase a hunting or combination hunting/fishing license to apply.
• An applicant cannot edit an application once submitted. They can withdraw it and reapply, but will have to pay the application fees once again.
• Applicants must front the entire cost of the license(s) they apply for.
• Unsuccessful applicants in the draw will have the license fees reimbursed minus the hunting license and application fees.
• Up to four applicants can apply in a party for elk and deer.
• Residents and nonresidents can apply together on a group application.
• There is no minimum age requirement to apply and hunt.
• Hunters under the age of 18 must have completed a hunter’s education course to purchase a hunting license and apply in the draw.
• Up to 6% of the licenses for each hunt can be allocated to nonresidents in the draw.
• Up to 10% of the licenses for each hunt can be allocated to applicants applying with an outfitter/guide.
• Both residents and nonresidents can apply in the guide draw, but they must have a signed guide/client agreement to do so.
• Residents are guaranteed a minimum of 84% of the licenses for each hunt. 
• Applicants cannot return and obtain a refund for a permit that they drew.
• Harvest reporting is mandatory, even if you do not harvest.

In 2020, New Mexico made a slight adjustment to their license allocation to guarantee that 84% of the licenses for each hunt goes to resident applicants. The change rippled through the nonresident and guided pool, resulting in some hunts no longer having licenses available. Use the table below to cross reference with the total number of licenses to ensure the hunts you are applying for will have enough licenses.

Minimum number of hunt licenses to ensure they are available to draw
Number of applicants	Minimum license number if applying in nonresident draw	Minimum license number if applying in guide draw
1	13	7
2	25	19
3	44	25
4	63	38

 

Cost for license and permits for New Mexico
Item	Resident	Nonresident
Hunting license	$15 (adult) $10 (youth)	$65 (adult) $15 (youth)
Habitat stamp	$10	$10
Habitat management and access validation	$4	$4
Application fee per species	$7	$13
Oryx license	$160	$1,623
Ibex license	$110	$1,623
Barbary sheep license	$110	$373

Note: must also front the cost of the license(s) they apply for, but will be refunded the cost of the license(s) (species) if they are unsuccessful in the draw.

The current drought status in New Mexico

2022

2021

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The New Mexico Draw System

New Mexico has a random draw system. Every applicant is on an equal playing field to draw — no matter how many years they have been applying. There is no preference or bonus point system. There are three pools of licenses: the resident pool, the nonresident pool and the guided pool. Residents are given 84% of the licenses for each hunt. Residents can draw up to 6% of the licenses for each hunt. Up to 10% of the licenses for each hunt are allocated to applicants through the draw who have a signed agreement with a guide/outfitter. Both residents and nonresidents can apply with a guide and be considered for that guide pool of licenses. Once you have an agreement with a guide, you will apply in the draw with their guide number. If you enter the draw with a guide/outfitter and draw a license, you are required to hunt in the field with that guide for a minimum of two days. The draw odds are typically better for applicants applying with an outfitter. If you can afford a guided hunt in New Mexico, applying with a guide is a great way to improve your chances of drawing a license.

Party applications

Up to four applicants can apply as a party for deer and antelope. Nonresidents and residents can apply together in a party. A party application is treated as a single application in the draw. If selected, all applicants on the application would receive a license provided there are enough licenses to offer one to each applicant. New Mexico will not over allocate the license quota to cover a group application. In the case that residents and nonresidents apply together, nonresident licenses are pulled from the nonresident quota. When applying as a party, one applicant will apply first and, upon completing the process, will receive a party application number. The rest of the party will then select “attach to an existing application” and enter the application code. There is no odds advantage to applying as a party. In fact, there may be a slight disadvantage. For example, if an application with two people is drawn and there is only one license remaining, that application will be rejected or if a nonresident and a resident apply together and there are not enough nonresident licenses, neither the resident or nonresident will be given a license.

Hunt choices

New Mexico offers their applicants five choices when applying. Unlike many states, the first three selections are going to be considered prior to moving to the next applicant. This means that you need to, at a minimum, apply for three choices you would be interested in hunting as you are essentially as likely to draw your third choice as you are your first on any given application. The fourth choice is often when you select a quadrant of the state to be considered for, meaning prior to the leftover list being published. If you select a fourth choice, you will be awarded a permit in an area that had leftover permits once the draw process is complete. The fifth choice is typically reserved for some sort of population reduction opportunity.

Hunt choice strategy 

Every year, we get asked because of the way New Mexico conducts their draw if there is some strategy in how you stagger your hunt choices. We recommend that you apply with the best hunt (worst odds) as your first choice and then select progressively better odds (average hunts) as your second and third choices. The reasoning behind this strategy is that with a random draw, you never know what position your application will be in the draw. Your application could be one of the first selected in the draw and, as such, you want to receive the higher quality license that should be your first choice. If your first hunt choice had better odds than your second and third choice, you are essentially wasting those choices.

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New Mexico's 2022 oryx breakdown

New Mexico offers hopeful applicants the opportunity to apply for a few different oryx opportunities within the state. Once-in-a-lifetime hunts, broken horn hunts and off-range hunts. With the once-in-a-lifetime hunts and the broken horn hunts, applicants will apply for specific hunting areas and dates. However, with the statewide hunt, all hunts are legal in the same areas and hunters simply need to pick a timeframe to apply for.

New Mexico oryx once-in-a-lifetime hunt breakdown
Hunt area	Season dates	2020* harvest success
19 Stallion Range	Sept. 9 to 11	92%
19 Rhodes Canyon	Sept. 23 to 25	98%
19 Rhodes Canyon	Oct. 21 to 23	94%
19 Stallion Range	Nov. 4 to 6	80%
19 Rhodes Canyon	Dec. 2 to 4	94%
19 Stallion Range	Jan. 13 to 15, 2023	100%
19 Stallion Range	Jan. 27 to 29, 2023	95%
19 Rhodes Canyon	Feb. 10 to 12, 2023	92%
19 Red Canyon	Feb. 24 to 26, 2023	84

 *At the time of writing, 2021 harvest data was not yet available.

New Mexico oryx broken horn hunt breakdown
Hunt area	Season dates	2020* harvest success
19 Stallion Range	Sept. 9 to 11	64%
19 Rhodes Canyon	Sept. 23 to 25	80%
19 Rhodes Canyon	Oct. 21 to 23	87%
19 Stallion Range	Nov. 4 to 6	62%
19 Rhodes Canyon	Dec. 2 to 4	87%
19 Stallion Range	Jan. 13 to 15, 2023	87%
19 Stallion Range	Jan. 27 to 29, 2023	NA
19 Rhodes Canyon	Feb. 10 to 12, 2023	NA
19 Red Canyon	Feb. 24 to 26, 2023	85%

 *At the time of writing, 2021 harvest data was not yet available.

New Mexico oryx off-range hunt breakdown
Hunt area	Season dates	2020* harvest success
Statewide	June 1 to 30	74%
Statewide	July 1 to 31	85%
Statewide	Aug. 1 to 31	83%
Statewide	Sept. 1 to 30	51%
Statewide	Oct. 1 to 31	69%
Statewide	Nov. 1 to 30	63%
Statewide	Dec. 1 to 31	70%
Statewide	Jan. 1 to 31, 2023	74%
Statewide	Feb. 1 to 28, 2023	69%
Statewide	Mar. 1 to 31, 2023	69%

 *At the time of writing, 2021 harvest data was not yet available.

See your resident draw odds

See your nonresident draw odds

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New Mexico's 2022 ibex breakdown

New Mexico offers some very exciting hunts for ibex in the Florida Mountains. Within these hunts, applicants will have the option to apply for archery, muzzleloader or rifle hunts. Draw odds for these hunts are steep and the terrain is very challenging, but the adventure is huge and unique. New Mexico does also offer a statewide over-the-counter (OTC) tag, but harvest success is virtually nonexistent and this is not a viable option for most. There is one rifle hunt available for billies; however, this hunt is a once-in-a-lifetime tag.

New Mexico 2022 ibex hunt breakdown
Weapon type	Season dates	2020* harvest success
Archery	Oct. 1 to 15	7%
Archery	Jan. 15 to 29, 2023	8%
Muzzleloader	Dec. 6 to 20	42%
Any legal weapon nanny	Feb. 4 to 12, 2023	28%
Any legal weapon nanny	Feb. 18 to 26, 2023	27%
Any legal weapon nanny	Mar. 4 to 12, 2023	35%
Any legal weapon nanny	Mar. 18 to 26, 2023	14%
Any legal weapon	Nov. 15 to 29, 2023	63%

 *At the time of writing, 2021 harvest data was not yet available.

See your resident draw odds

See your nonresident draw odds

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New Mexico's 2022 Barbary sheep breakdown

One of the most accessible exotics in New Mexico, Barbary sheep can be hunted in a number of units and also on an OTC tag. Overall, harvest success is generally good on most of these hunts and the OTC option can be a great one to consider with some careful homework and local help. Guided hunts on the OTC tags tend to do very well.

New Mexico Barbary sheep hunt breakdown
Unit	Weapon type	Season dates	2020* harvest success
28	Any legal weapon	Dec. 31 to Jan. 1, 2023	47%
29, 30	Archery	Jan. 1 to 15, 2023	29%
29, 30	Any legal weapon	Oct. 8 to 12	53%
29, 30	Any legal weapon	Dec. 3 to 16	53%
29, 30	Any legal weapon	Jan. 20 to Feb. 2, 2023	50%
29, 30	Any legal weapon	Feb. 11 to 24, 2023	40%
32, 34, 36, 37	Archery	Jan. 1 to 15, 2023	11%
32, 34, 36, 37	Any legal weapon	Oct. 8 to 12	33%
32, 34, 36, 37	Any legal weapon	Dec. 3 to 16	42%
32, 34, 36, 37	Any legal weapon	Jan. 20 to Feb. 2, 2023	29%
32, 34, 36, 37	Any legal weapon	Feb. 11 to 24, 2023	35%

See your resident draw odds

See your nonresident draw odds