Unit 045 covers the Sonoma Range proper and the country south of Winnemucca toward Battle Mountain. The Sonomas top out at about 9,400 feet on Sonoma Peak, with extensive mahogany, aspen, and a few stands of limber pine on the high country. Lower elevations grade through pinon-juniper into sage-bitterbrush flats at around 4,500 feet. Cottonwood Creek and a few other drainages hold water year-round, which matters more than you'd think. Mostly BLM with Humboldt-Toiyabe NF on the higher peaks and private ranches stitched along the creeks. I-80 frames the south end; gravel roads climb from both sides—the road up Cottonwood Canyon is decent, the rest are rough. Winnemucca is your hub. Cell service follows I-80 and dies in the canyons. Mule deer is the headline, with the the aspen-mahogany transition holding mature bucks in October. Pronghorn use the lower sage. The Sonoma Range gets less attention than the Santa Rosas to the north and the bucks reflect that. Late October weather can turn fast at elevation—snow, then mud on the descent.