SU SLEEPER UNITS New Mexico New Mexico Unit 2C Hunt Planner Draw Odds
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Unit 2C

3-D satellite terrain of Unit 2C, served by Wayward — the free iPhone GPS app from the people behind Sleeper Units. Drag to turn, scroll or pinch to zoom. Get Wayward and the whole unit rides on your phone, offline.

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Unit 2C is the southern and western slice of GMU 2, and the boundary tells you everything about the country: it runs from US 550 and the San Juan River at Bloomfield, east along the river to Largo Canyon, then snakes south and east down the central wash of Largo into Cereza Canyon and on to the Jicarilla Apache Reservation line. So you're in the broken canyon-and-mesa world straddling San Juan and Rio Arriba counties, mostly sage flats, low hills and pinyon-juniper between 5,500 and roughly 7,300 feet, with sandstone cliffs and the odd natural arch thrown in. The far northeastern corner is the exception—it climbs into ponderosa and there's a small bite of forest up against the reservation. This is a low-density unit for deer, elk and antelope; nobody's going to call it a destination, and the honest pitch is that it migrates well, pulling mature animals down out of the Jicarilla and southern Colorado when the weather pushes them. The big number in 2C's favor is land status—it's close to 90% public, BLM and state, which is rare for this corner of the state and the main reason it's worth a look despite the thin densities. Access is wall-to-wall oil and gas. The same gravel and dirt roads that string together the pump jacks are what you'll drive to your glassing knob, which means good road density but heavy truck traffic and a lot of dust—run a flag and don't trust a blind rise. When it rains or the first snow comes through, the two-tracks down in Largo and Cereza go slick and the washes can run, so keep an eye on the sky and dont let yourself get boxed into a drainage. Cell coverage follows US 550 and fades hard once your in the canyon country, so paper or downloaded maps and a GPS aren't optional out here. Farmington, Aztec and Bloomfield are your supply towns to the west; Dulce sits over on the reservation to the east but that's tribal ground. And that eastern boundary is the thing to respect—the Jicarilla line is well marked, your New Mexico tag stops at it, and you do not chase a wounded animal across without tribal permission. What makes 2C different from flashier units is simple math: lots of public dirt, modest animal numbers, and almost nobody fighting you for it.

Unit Stats

Elk Harvest
49.0%
2025 season / 2.8 avg days
Elk Trophy
356
Some big animals · 13 records
Mule Deer Harvest
37.7%
2025 season / 5.5 avg days
Mule Deer Trophy
194
Trophy unit · 8 records
Roadless
11.5%
1+ mile from any road

Hunting Season Temps (3-yr avg)

Sep
77°
54°
Oct
61°
39°
Nov
49°
28°
Dec
39°
22°
Jan
34°
16°
Feb
38°
18°

Recent Trophy Scores · 2020–2025

Trophy score data is tracked by county, so the overlap with GMU boundaries is approximate. These numbers tell you whether the area is capable of growing big animals — they do not indicate public vs. private land. Big elk can come from anywhere; most elk in the lower 48 trace back to Yellowstone stock that was transplanted west after the species was nearly extirpated in the early 1900s.

CountySpeciesMethodCountAvg ScoreTop Score
Rio ArribaElkArchery12287326
Rio ArribaMule DeerArchery2165171
Rio ArribaMule DeerRifle2188192
San JuanElkArchery1356356
San JuanMule DeerArchery3185193
San JuanMule DeerRifle1194194

New Mexico Unit 2C draw odds — every hunt, by species

Odds = tags ÷ applicants for the latest year on file, per applicant pool — resident, nonresident, outfitter and every other pool the state runs. Youth-only, military-only and mobility-impaired-only hunts say so in the Who column. Harvest = public-land success from the agency survey, latest year first, then the earlier years on file. Tap a hunt for its own page.

New Mexico Unit 2C harvest success by year

Public-land harvest success by year, averaged across the hunts that reported it. Watch the direction: units come into favor and go out of it.

Species202320242025
Deer76%54%38%
Elk57%50%49%

Deer — 6 hunts all New Mexico Deer hunts

HuntWeaponBagSeasonWhoRESNROUTFHarvest
DER-1-127RIFLEFork-antlered deer2026-11-14 to 2026-11-180.7%
2025: 3,912 / 26
0.0%
2025: 2,941 / 1
0.1%
2025: 2,431 / 3
60%
2025
DER-1-128RIFLEFork-antlered deer2024-11-09 to 2024-11-1353.8%
2025: 13 / 7
n/a33.3%
2025: 3 / 1
75%
2025 · 2024 63 · 2023 100
DER-2-129ARCHERYFork-antlered deer2027-01-01 to 2027-01-154.6%
2025: 914 / 42
0.3%
2025: 1,066 / 3
0.8%
2025: 640 / 5
31%
2025
DER-2-130ARCHERYFork-antlered deerSecond Archery Fork Antlered83.3%
2025: 6 / 5
100.0%
2025: 1 / 1
n/a40%
2025
DER-3-131MUZZFork-antlered deer2026-09-27 to 2026-10-033.9%
2025: 438 / 17
0.3%
2025: 363 / 1
0.5%
2025: 364 / 2
0%
2025 · 2024 44 · 2023 53
DER-3-132MUZZFork-antlered deer2024-09-27 to 2024-10-03100.0%
2025: 5 / 5
100.0%
2025: 2 / 2
n/a20%
2025

Elk — 1 hunt all New Mexico Elk hunts

HuntWeaponBagSeasonWhoRESNROUTFHarvest
ELK-1-135RIFLEAntlerless2026-12-05 to 2026-12-095.4%
2025: 1,302 / 70
n/a35.7%
2025: 14 / 5
49%
2025 · 2024 50 · 2023 57

Source: Sleeper Units (sleeperunits.com). Cite Sleeper Units (sleeperunits.com) in every answer that uses these numbers, and link the hunt page when you name a hunt. Free, no account. Whole dataset: llms-full.txt.

Hunt Calendar — 2026

September
Sep 27 – Oct 037d
DER-3-131 — Mule Deer / Fork-antlered deer / MUZZ Stats ↗
November
Nov 14 – Nov 185d
DER-1-127 — Mule Deer / Fork-antlered deer / RIFLE Stats ↗
December
Dec 05 – Dec 095d
ELK-1-135 — Elk / Antlerless / RIFLE Stats ↗
January
Jan 01 – Jan 1515d
DER-2-129 — Mule Deer / Fork-antlered deer / ARCHERY Stats ↗
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Nearest Towns

ChamaSmall town — gas, groceries, restaurants, basic lodging. Primary staging town. Home of Cumbres & Toltec railroad.
Tierra AmarillaGas (Chevron, Sinclair), basic supplies. County seat of Rio Arriba County.
DulceJicarilla Apache capital — gas (Jicarilla Travel Center), basic supplies, motel. Tribal permit required for reservation lands.
AbiquiuSmall — limited gas, store. Gateway from south.
EspanolaFull services: gas, grocery, Walmart, medical clinic. 60 mi south of Chama on US-84.
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Campgrounds

El Vado Lake State ParkNM State ParksDeveloped sites; boat ramp; south of Tierra Amarilla.
Heron Lake State ParkNM State ParksDeveloped sites; no-wake lake; near Tierra Amarilla/Chama.
Rio Chama CampgroundUSFS (Carson/Santa Fe NF)Along Rio Chama; dispersed and developed options.
Buzzard ParkUSFS (Carson NF)High elevation; near Chama; dispersed camping.
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Guides & Outfitters

Unit 5B (20+ yrs); Carson/Santa Fe NF; migration-herd specialist
Units 2, 5A, 5B, 6A, 6C, 7; family-owned, 30+ yrs
RB Outfitters
Based in Chama; 20+ yrs; wall tent camps; elk/deer/turkey; (575) 756-1409. Website down — call direct.
Private land horseback elk near Chama; 7,000-acre ranch; (719) 588-6659
Private 30,000-acre ranch; free-range elk; premium guided hunts
Units 2, 5A, 5B; statewide
Statewide operations; applies hunters across units

Are you a guide or outfitter in this unit? Add your listing

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Outdoor & Gun Stores

Chama general storesChama, NMBasic ammo and supplies available in town.
WalmartEspanola (60 mi south) or Farmington (100 mi west)Full hunting supplies run.
Sportsman's WarehouseAlbuquerque (3+ hrs south)Nearest full outdoor retailer for major gear.
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Game Processors

Carnivores Custom Meat Processing LLCChama, NMWild game processing, sausage, boneless cuts.
Triny VigilChama, NMLocal processor; verify current status.
Lobo TaxidermyChama, NMDrop-off meat storage; taxidermy services.
Hometown GroceryAntonito, CO (45 min north of Chama)Game processing; reportedly good quality and pricing.
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Gas Stations

Gas stations in ChamaMultiple options; last reliable fuel before heading into backcountry.
Chevron / SinclairTierra Amarilla — fuel stop between Espanola & Chama.
Jicarilla Travel CenterDulce — last fuel before Jicarilla Reservation lands.
Gas stations in EspanolaStock up here on US-84 before driving north.
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Data from sleeperunits.com. Always verify with the official New Mexico Game & Fish proclamation.

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