Shiras moose size vs elk?

DonVathome

DonVathome

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How does a typical shiras bull moose compare (weight) to a typically elk? Wy if it matters. I am guessing the moose is 10% bigger? Thanks!
 
I’d say 20% bigger weight wise but the weight is all in the chuck and front shoulders. Moose hind quarters are about like a spike elk hindquarter
 
Shiras? Maybe Canadian moose but I di not think the average shiras bull is 50% larger then the average elk in WY.

Googled it (which I do not trust but at least it gives a reference). shiras 600-1400, elk 700-1100.
 
idahomuleyhunter said:
I guess closer to 50% bigger. A huge bull elk is 800 pounds, that's a very small shiras bull moose.
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Moose aren’t near as heavy as they look. They’re flat and tall so they look way bigger then they are. Or atleast look a lot heavier then they are. I’ve only been able to get one shiras bull out whole and he was a 3 year old but he only weighed 450# gutted. The rest have been quartered. From my experience a shiras front 1/4 is about the same weight as a big bull elk hind quarter and vice versa. The moose front is a ***** to handle though because they’re tall and long.
 
There odd anatomically structure and bone mass really makes the processed amount of meat maybe 10-20% more to a mature bull elk imo. Worst part is the back straps are about the size as a foot long subway sandwich about 8-10”.
I’d rather eat elk any day over a shiras.
 
I have wrestled a Canada moose on the ground, & it was a major chore compared to the bull elk I've dealt with on the ground. I would rate a mature Canada as 40-50% larger. The head & neck alone are mucho larger than an elk.

Although I've never had to wrestle a Shiras moose on the ground, I have spent plenty of time taking photos of them up close on the hoof. Though not as large as a Canada, I would say they outweigh an elk by 25-30% at the least. Even a Shiras cow moose is larger than a bull elk.

A Shiras bull...

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A Shiras cow...

Moose3.jpg


Bull elk...


bullelk1.jpg
 
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Given Don is asking on another thread about WY moose this fall. I'll say go ahead and plan for 1100-1200 pound animal. There isn't an elk in Wyoming that weighs that. The 700-1100 pound weight range for elk is bs. A very large cow elk weighs 550-600 and I see cow elk every year bigger than 2-3 year old bulls. Saying 700 is the bottom end of that range is ridiculous. Your average bull elk is going to be 600-700 which is an immature Shiras moose. If you shoot a mature bull moose he'll go over 1000 pounds. Plan accordingly and good luck.
 
idahomuleyhunter said:
Given Don is asking on another thread about WY moose this fall. I'll say go ahead and plan for 1100-1200 pound animal. There isn't an elk in Wyoming that weighs that. The 700-1100 pound weight range for elk is bs. A very large cow elk weighs 550-600 and I see cow elk every year bigger than 2-3 year old bulls. Saying 700 is the bottom end of that range is ridiculous. Your average bull elk is going to be 600-700 which is an immature Shiras moose. If you shoot a mature bull moose he'll go over 1000 pounds. Plan accordingly and good luck.
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HUNT :: Montana Big Game Records | Montana FWP

This area presents and honors those larger specimens of Montana big game animals, it is important that we remember that the pursuit, harvest, and possession of a trophy has special meaning to many hunters.
fwp.mt.gov fwp.mt.gov

Check out the recorded body weights...biggest moose was 1100ish, biggest elk a pinch over 1000.
 
Damn Don you sure are feeling lucky you’re going to get that moose tag. ?

Good luck. I don’t know **** about weight. Depending on the maturity of the moose you shoot will dictate the size. You kill a young moose it’s going to be the size of an elk just with longer legs.
 
I've packed out lots of elk and only one Shiras and it was a chore. We had to go just under 3 miles with my moose and I had 6 friends with me. Between the 7 of us we got it out in one trip and we were all loaded down heavy and that was deboned meat. The head and cape alone is one trip. Alone you are looking at 7 trips for a moose and a big bull elk is typically 4 or 5 trips.
 
BuzzH said:
No way is a mature shiras bull moose 50% bigger than a mature bull elk.

I would say, maybe 20-25% bigger.

I've been around and packed a bunch of each.
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I think most of the people that think shiras are so big have only looked at them. They LOOK big but they’re just aren’t set up to yield much. Their heads are heavy, their shoulders are long and tall but their hind ends don’t weigh nearly what an elk does. I wish I had taken the time to weigh my Canadian moose this year. Picked him up with the loader. He was much much bigger then any shiras bull I’ve been around and much bigger then atleast a dozen other bulls I watched him square off with, but I would be real surprised if he weighed even close to 1000# based on how he felt on the loader. I would say most mature shiras bulls are 700-800#. Most mature bull elk are 675-750#.
 
BuzzH said:

HUNT :: Montana Big Game Records | Montana FWP

This area presents and honors those larger specimens of Montana big game animals, it is important that we remember that the pursuit, harvest, and possession of a trophy has special meaning to many hunters.
fwp.mt.gov fwp.mt.gov

Check out the recorded body weights...biggest moose was 1100ish, biggest elk a pinch over 1000.
Click to expand...
I’m surprised that the heaviest Bison only weighed 1,500 lbs.
 
Most bull elk are not 675-750#. That's bs. Most bull elk are 550 or less. Because most bull elk are 3 years or less. You're trying to compare a small moose to a big elk and say they're the same. If you say bull elk weigh 550-750 pounds. Then 50% more is 825-1125. Which is exactly what most sources say you'd expect. I've help butcher dozens of elk and only one moose and it was small as Shiras moose go. It's way bigger than an elk.
 
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desperatehills said:
My biggest bull elk was 360 lbs of meat with leg bones/shoulder blades (gutless). My shiras was 460 for the same cuts.
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Now interpolate that same difference for the stuff that didn't make it to the butcher. I've never seen guts from a Shiras but the ones from a Canada moose, which I have seen, make an impressive pile that's quite a bit lager than ANY bull elk I've field dressed. I'll venture a guess a Shiras' aren't too much less.
 
People don't realize that size doesn't equate to the real weight. Moose are long and gangly, and the bull elk is a lot thicker and compact. Weights are about the same. I've killed 30 elk here in Idaho, and a couple bull moose in Idaho and Wyoming. Been in on guiding and packing about 2 dozen of each over the years. I love killing moose here in SE Idaho. The key is to get rid of unwanted weight, leg bones and shoulder bones. Take the extra hour to cape out the head and cut off the antlers. Makes them very doable with a couple people then!!!
 
Blank said:
People don't realize that size doesn't equate to the real weight. Moose are long and gangly, and the bull elk is a lot thicker and compact. Weights are about the same. I've killed 30 elk here in Idaho, and a couple bull moose in Idaho and Wyoming. Been in on guiding and packing about 2 dozen of each over the years. I love killing moose here in SE Idaho. The key is to get rid of unwanted weight, leg bones and shoulder bones. Take the extra hour to cape out the head and cut off the antlers. Makes them very doable with a couple people then!!!
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This is all true but the fact is 825-1125 is 50% more than 550-750.
 
A fair number of years ago, I got drawn for a moose tag in Wyoming. Shot a nice bull.....45" wide. We cut him up and packed him out with a one wheeled deer cart. Took me a couple of days to get home. But, when I took him to the butcher.....508#s of meat and bones. Not counting the head and hide.

Shot a Roosevelt Elk in California one year. We packed out 518#s of meat and bones on him. Not counting head and hide. Roosevelt Elk are the largest bodied elk though.
 
woodturner said:
A fair number of years ago, I got drawn for a moose tag in Wyoming. Shot a nice bull.....45" wide. We cut him up and packed him out with a one wheeled deer cart. Took me a couple of days to get home. But, when I took him to the butcher.....508#s of meat and bones. Not counting the head and hide.

Shot a Roosevelt Elk in California one year. We packed out 518#s of meat and bones on him. Not counting head and hide. Roosevelt Elk are the largest bodied elk though.
Click to expand...
So a 1000lb+ Wyoming moose? Imagine that..... Congrats on both animals
 
Blank said:
People don't realize that size doesn't equate to the real weight. Moose are long and gangly, and the bull elk is a lot thicker and compact. Weights are about the same. I've killed 30 elk here in Idaho, and a couple bull moose in Idaho and Wyoming. Been in on guiding and packing about 2 dozen of each over the years. I love killing moose here in SE Idaho. The key is to get rid of unwanted weight, leg bones and shoulder bones. Take the extra hour to cape out the head and cut off the antlers. Makes them very doable with a couple people then!!!
Click to expand...
I've had a few moose tags & shot my share of elk. I'd bet if you boned out an average size moose and elk. You'd probably have about 40lbs more meat on the moose. Just my opinion. Hope you get a giant!!!!! Mark
 
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marley said:
let’s just suffice it to say that they are really big and take friends with you.

View attachment 74620
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The square footage is there but they are only 14” thick. I processed my Idaho moose solo and hated every minute of the ordeal because of the shape. I enjoy breaking down elk and deer but that moose was a chore. Meat yield for me was slightly more than mature bull elk.
 
I loved my AK moose meat, anyone think shiras are not as good as AK moose? I figured they tasted the same. Elk is great. I know a rocky mnt elk will never hit 1,100, but roosies, and I think the AK elk are also sometimes over 1,000. I packed my AK moose, solo, bone in (by law). I do not need to ever do that again.

Most guys I have talked to agree with about 20% bigger. I think the long legs and hump make them appear larger. I will be ready for anything this was more out of curiosity. I have always wondered.

I struggled with guessing what my cow bison weighed. My partner and I have both hunted lots of elk and we each guessed quit a bit different. No idea who was right.
 
Don,
The 15-20% larger for a shiras compared to a Rocky Mtn elk is about right. Of course Roosevelt elk can be a lot bigger, and come close to the same size as a Shiras.
I've been in on the harvest and packing of well over 100 elk, but perhaps only a dozen shiras. The majority of the difference disappears when you quarter and remove the lower leg, etc. There will be more actual meat to consume (carry) from a moose, but less than many think. The earlier statement of about 40# more meat is pretty close, on average.
BTW, cow bison typically run around 650-700 pounds. People talk about 800 pound cows, but these are as rare as 1000 pound rocky mtn elk. I've only packed a half dozen bison, but a cow in particular is a very manageable task if you are used to elk or moose. Different geometry, once again, but once it is on the pack frame it isn't much different than an average bull elk. Shorter legs seem to translate into less weight left behind, so the meat yield from a cow bison is very similar to an average, mature bull elk.
Bill
 
BTW, Canadian Moose and Alaskan moose, in particular, are in an entirely different league. The difference is weight and size is substantial, almost like an entirely different species. :) Which they pretty much are...
Bill
 
My father in law wanted to kill a moose here in Idaho. He was about 75 years old, and had never even applied before. I told him it had to have antlers wider than the ears, be close to the road where we could get him for pictures, and my son and I would do the rest. He drew the first time!!

4 year old, mid 30's for width, and 300 yards off a two track. It was the toughest game meat we have ever cooked. You had to crock pot the hamburger!!! :)
 
idahomuleyhunter said:
Most bull elk are not 675-750#. That's bs. Most bull elk are 550 or less. Because most bull elk are 3 years or less. You're trying to compare a small moose to a big elk and say they're the same. If you say bull elk weigh 550-750 pounds. Then 50% more is 825-1125. Which is exactly what most sources say you'd expect. I've help butcher dozens of elk and only one moose and it was small as Shiras moose go. It's way bigger
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idahomuleyhunter said:
Exactly, how many moose come out whole?
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A4E61D4E-CE5D-412A-B9CC-3BB6586E152A.jpeg
603E5A0A-57FE-4699-AA1F-E5C2EF808A8C.jpeg

2 of the 3 that I’ve killed

Also if you read close on my post you’d see that I said “mature” elk and “mature” moose. The young shiras bull in the bed of my pickup weighed less then a spike elk and maybe 50% more then a big northern muley buck. I slid him in the pickup myself.
 
When I killed my Shiras Bull--took 3 horses to pack meat out...with Big Bull Elk I've killed only 2 horses to pack meat out..
 
This thread reminds me of the many "guess the score" threads. The truth is somewhere in between the highest and lowest.

@BuzzH I don't believe some of those weights on the Montana site. Mule deer 453#, no way...:ROFLMAO:
 
jm77 said:
This thread reminds me of the many "guess the score" threads. The truth is somewhere in between the highest and lowest.

@BuzzH I don't believe some of those weights on the Montana site. Mule deer 453#, no way...:ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
I look at Shaq and think the same thing...no way.

Outliers.
 

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