Unit 245, Nevada

The unit spans elevations from roughly 4,000 feet on the valley floors up to 7,974 feet on the highest ridges of the Pahranagat Range (confirmed from NDOW bighorn sheep hunt information sheet). Terrain is rugged throughout the mountains, with steep canyons, rimrocks, and exposed cliff faces especially pronounced in bighorn habitat. The surrounding valleys are flat to gently rolling desert floor.

Unit 245 is approximately 96% public land managed primarily by the BLM Caliente Field Office (P.O. Box 237, Caliente, NV 89008; 775-726-8100). US Highway 93 runs through Pahranagat Valley along the eastern boundary providing multiple entry points into the Pahranagat and East Pahranagat Ranges. State Route 375 runs along the northern edge and provides access into the northwest portion of the unit near Rachel. Many unmaintained dirt roads branch off these highways and allow OHV travel across most of the landscape. There are no designated wilderness areas in the Pahranagat Range or East Pahranagat Range, so access throughout those mountains is reasonable. The least-accessed area is the northwest portion of Unit 245, where three of the six documented water developments are located and roads are most limited. Primitive dispersed camping is available throughout public lands; developed camping with facilities is available at Pahranagat NWR (US-93 near Alamo). Full services and lodging are available in Alamo and Ash Springs. The southern portion of the Pahranagat Range is restricted Department of Defense land (Nevada Test and Training Range) and lies outside the unit boundary.

Lower elevations and valley floors support barren creosote-scrub and scattered cacti typical of the Mojave Desert transition zone. As elevation rises, vegetation shifts to desert shrubs, then sagebrush, then pinyon-juniper woodland, with mountain brush on mid-elevation ridges. Riparian and wetland vegetation occurs in the Pahranagat Valley lowlands along US-93, where Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge (5,380 acres) protects wetland and desert upland habitat; those NWR wetland parcels are outside the huntable unit boundary.

Mule deer inhabit the mountain ranges but are rarely harvested from the Pahranagat Range or Arrow Canyon Range; NDOW biologist notes confirm highest densities in the Delamar Mountains (Unit 241) and Clover Mountains (Unit 242). During warm months animals associate with high-elevation water sources; as temperatures cool in late October they drift to lower pinyon-juniper winter range. Desert bighorn sheep (Nelson subspecies) are distributed across the Pahranagat Range and East Pahranagat Range; Unit 245 holds the largest numbers of bighorn in the 245/133 hunt group. Key bighorn areas include Badger Mountain, Curtis Canyon, the North Wall guzzler area, and Medsger Pass. Six documented water developments (springs and artificial guzzlers) support this herd. Pronghorn concentrate in the northwestern portion of the unit near Rachel on open flats and foothills. Mountain lion are present as a predator of deer and bighorn. Small game including chukar partridge and Gambel's quail occupy rocky desert hillsides and canyon edges at lower to mid elevations.

Mule deer harvest stats (2025) are for the full unit group 241-245 combined — no unit 245-only breakdown is available from NDOW public data; the NDOW hunt information sheet explicitly states deer are 'rarely harvested' from the Pahranagat Range. The 68% success rate and 27 deer harvest reflect the entire 241-245 unit group. Desert bighorn sheep quota of 1 resident tag (2025) is for the combined 245/133 unit group; Unit 245 itself holds the majority of the herd in the Pahranagat and East Pahranagat Ranges. The Mount Irish Range falls within Unit 133 (adjacent unit), not Unit 245 — both are in the same bighorn hunt group. Pronghorn quota of 20 is for the combined 132-134/245 group. The NDOW 2025 quota document notes 77% of harvested bucks in unit group 241-245 were 4-point or better, the highest rate statewide. No elk present or managed in Unit 245.