Leather, I have not hunted deer or elk in N. M. but shot lots of jacks and quail there in years past..maybe a few coyotes..I am not sure when the quail season opens, but in sept. you should get some dove shooting..the sw is excellent for that..one year I missed out on aoudad hunts that were going on, because I did not have one of my big game rifles with me on the trip..but I would say you could count on coyotes, jacks, dove and maybe quail that that time of year....