Winter Kill

When I told the DOW officer that I had never been witness of an actual winter kill and that being late March, I thought he would've made it through the hard times already, he answered, "Winter weakens and spring kills."  It was sad to see this bull laying on his side, antlers caught in a service berry bush, a light dusting of snow laying him to rest.  Everyone in the neighborhood had been watching this bull for two weeks in anticipation of him dropping his antlers.  I think we all would have much rather picked up his antlers this spring and hunted him this fall.  It's a harsh reminder of how cruel nature is, and how tough these animals really have to be to survive.  Being that these animals are so fragile this time of year, I'm certainly going to refrain from any serious shed hunting until May.  It's not worth a piece of bone, to bump into some bucks or bulls and push them up some hill and sap them of their last bit of energy reserves.