New Mexico Unit 43: public land, hunts and harvest
Game Management Unit 43 covers 1,218,216 acres (1,903 square miles) of Northeast New Mexico; 26.3% of it is public land, the largest share state trust land (201,135 acres), by the BLM's New Mexico land status map (2026). NMDOW's 2026-27 booklet lists 1 elk, 3 deer and 2 pronghorn hunt codes valid here, with 105 draw licenses. NMDGF's 2025-26 totals for Unit 43, which count public and private-land hunters, show 56 deer taken.
Data updated October 2026. Hunts: NMDOW's 2026-27 Hunting Rules and Information. Harvest: NMDGF reports to 2025-26. Land: BLM New Mexico, 2026-10.
National forestBLMState trust landState parkNational Park ServiceMilitary landUnit 43Neighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| Quadrant | Northeast New Mexico |
|---|---|
| Size | 1,218,216 acres (1,903 square miles) |
| Public land | 26.3% (320,239 acres) |
| Military land | 1,419 acres (0.1%), closed except NMDOW's listed hunts |
| Elk hunt codes, 2026-27 | 1 (30 draw licenses) |
| Deer hunt codes, 2026-27 | 3 (60 draw licenses) |
| Pronghorn hunt codes, 2026-27 | 2 (15 draw licenses) |
| Towns in and near it | Eldorado at Santa Fe, Cañoncito, Villanueva, Moriarty, Santa Rosa and Santa Fe |
How much public land is in Unit 43?
26.3% of Unit 43 is public land open to hunting under its manager's rules: 320,239 of 1,218,216 acres. The largest share is state trust land, 201,135 acres or 16.5% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 43 |
|---|---|---|
| State trust land | 201,135 | 16.5% |
| National forest | 105,685 | 8.7% |
| BLM | 13,419 | 1.1% |
| State park | 1,963 | 0.2% |
| Military land | 1,419 | 0.1% |
| National Park Service | 175 | under 0.1% |
Measured by FilledTag inside NMDOW's unit boundary from the BLM New Mexico surface management agency map (read 2026-10). Land not listed is private or unmapped. Many state trust land sections touch no public road. NMDOW requires a Habitat Stamp on national forest and BLM land (2026-27 booklet, page 14). National Park Service land is not counted as public here: it is closed to hunting.
Open Gate properties in Unit 43: King Ranch (dove, sandhill crane). Source: NMDOW Open Gate table (updated 09-15-2026).
What can you hunt in Unit 43?
6 hunt codes in NMDOW's 2026-27 booklet are valid in Unit 43. Some cover neighboring units too; each species page lists them all with their recent results.
| Species | Hunt codes | Draw licenses | Season span, 2026-27 | Harvest, newest NMDGF unit total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 1 | 30 | Oct 1 to Oct 5 | with other units |
| Deer | 3 | 60 | Sep 1 to Nov 11 | 56 (2025-26) |
| Pronghorn (Units 8 and 43) | 2 | 15 | Aug 15 to Aug 31 | with other units |
Hunt codes valid here that are on no species area page: ELK-1-410 (elk, Units 39 and 43).
Hunts: NMDOW 2026-27 Hunting Rules and Information, pages 65, 87 and 103. Harvest: NMDOW elk harvest reports, NMDOW deer harvest reports and NMDOW pronghorn harvest reports; "with other units" means NMDGF prints this unit's total together with other units.
How do you get to Unit 43?
Highways through the unit: US 84 (about 56 miles inside it), US 285 (about 51 miles inside it), NM 3 (about 32 miles inside it), I-25 (about 31 miles inside it) and I-40 (about 29 miles inside it). Towns and places inside: Eldorado at Santa Fe, Cañoncito, Villanueva, Sunlit Hills, Arroyo Hondo and Lamy. Nearby: Moriarty (on the line), Santa Rosa (2 miles), Santa Fe (2 miles) and Pecos (3 miles).
Which units border Unit 43?
Unit 43 touches 7 other units. Their size, public land and 2026-27 hunt codes, for comparison:
| Unit | Square miles | Public land | Elk codes | Deer codes | Pronghorn codes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 6C | 1,215 | 53.4% | 9 | 4 | |
| Unit 8 | 922 | 16.1% | 6 | 2 | |
| Unit 14 | 1,656 | 17% | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Unit 39 | 2,638 | 18.2% | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Unit 42 | 4,294 | 8.9% | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Unit 45 | 1,525 | 74.3% | 6 | 6 | |
| Unit 46 | 1,260 | 0.7% | 4 | 5 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Unit 43?
26.3% of Unit 43, 320,239 of its 1,218,216 acres, is national forest, BLM, state trust, Commission, refuge or Reclamation land, measured by FilledTag from the BLM's New Mexico land status map. The largest share is state trust land (201,135 acres).
What can you hunt in Unit 43?
NMDOW's 2026-27 Hunting Rules and Information lists 1 elk, 3 deer and 2 pronghorn hunt codes valid in Unit 43. 6 of them are drawn hunts with 105 licenses in all.
What is the closest town to Unit 43?
Eldorado at Santa Fe, Cañoncito and Villanueva are inside the unit. Just outside: Moriarty (on the line), Santa Rosa (2 miles) and Santa Fe (2 miles).
New Mexico hunting Northeast New Mexico Elk Deer Pronghorn Unit 6C Unit 8 Unit 14 Unit 39 Unit 42 Unit 45 Unit 46