New Mexico

[bjtc_brian]

Okay, there is a very high likelihood that my family and I will be getting moved to Santa Fe, NM this year for work(probably about 30 months there). I have never hunted outside of Montana. I am wondering what I need to do for getting a NR license for next season once I get the actual green light that's where I am going. I "believe" I can figure out a place to hunt with looking at stats and public land availability. But for trying to buy a license I get all misty eyed and confused! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also, on a side note, I know NM doesn't recognize my CCW. But to get one, will I need to take a CCW course in NM, or will my MT course suffice?

 

[EODRay]

It would have been easier if you were moving from NM to MT. MT accepts CCW permits from NM but NM does not accept CCW's from MT. That means that your permit will not be honored for the 30 day grace period once you have moved…….so don't carry until you get the NM one. I have received a CWW permit from NM and it wasn't that hard. Being military, I didn't even have to have the CCW course. everything you need to know is here.
http://www.dps.nm.org/index.php/nm-concealed-carry/

 

[blb078]

Was in the northern part of NM for a hunt this year. The app deadline I believe is mid March but not sure on that. There's no points it's all random so you're not behind in a points game. The seasons aren't like MT were you have an archery season for all units then a rifle season and the same tag works for both. In NM they have archery hunts/tags, ML, and rifle. The hunts aren't a month long like MT either, I think some of the archery hunts might be a couple weeks but you'd have to look into that, rifle hunts will usually be around 5 days or so, but you can check all that online for how long each hunt is and when.

Basically start doing some research on a couple units and hunts you'd like and go to the regs online and you can see the dates for each unit. One thing about the draw process is that you can get a premium unit w/your second or third choice, basically once your number comes up in the drawing it looks at your first choice then sees if any tags are available, if not then it looks at your second, then third, then on to the next app. There's also land owner tags or vouchers but I don't know much about them other than some cost a decent amount. Someone else might be able to give you some of the finer details but I think that covers some of the basics.

Here is the 2013 hunt regulations, you can scroll down and see the hunts and dates for each species. Tag prices can be different depending if it's a standard hunt or a quality/high demand hunt.
http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/publications/documents/rib/2013/BG_RIB_WEB.pdf

 

[HighDesertSage]

I am actually from northern NM. Feel free to PM me with any questions you might have. Do you fly fish? You can fish in the Rockies year round there. The trick to hunting NM every year is to apply for units that are easy to draw. I get so tired of residents complaining that they havent been drawn in years when all they apply for is 2b, 16a, 36, etc. There is alot of good hunting in the not so popular units, you just gotta get after the animals. I hope to go back someday. If you're in Santa Fe you will have the Pecos Wilderness in your back yard. This is an absolutely gorgeous place with great cuttthroat fishing and elk hunting. On a side note the people of Santa Fe are very nice, but it is a very liberal area. Best of luck.

 

[HighDesertSage]

Also NM is an extended domain state, which means you can carry in your vehicle without a permit.

 

[bjtc_brian]

Thanks for the info guys!

 

[sagebrush]

Everything you need to know for hunting is here:

http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/

 

[bigeasygator]

I live in Louisiana and the regs in New Mexico are much easier for me to follow than in Montana. Everything is basically via the draw in NM. You can put three choices per species on your application and if you are drawn they will look at each one of your choices before moving onto the next application. This means you can put hard to draw units for your first two choices and something easier to draw for your third choice. NM also has landowner tags and you can purchase those if you are unlucky in the draw.