Shiras Moose Packout vs Elk

[Coveyleader]

So, you shoot a solid 6 point bull, and you have a solid Shiras on the ground. How much bigger are they really? I drew a Shiras tag here in CO and am looking at some wilderness areas. Trying to figure out logistics.

Lets here it from those who've been there.

 

[Beendare]

The good thing about moose in Co is you don't have to pack into a wilderness area to find them.

I have a cow moose tag this year.
I suppose a guy can do things the hard way. I'm not even going to pretend on some hardcore hunting method.......I will just drive from camp to camp and ask if they have seen a moose. They won't talk elk...but they will light up about moose.

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[Coveyleader]

The good thing about moose in Co is you don't have to pack into a wilderness area to find them.

I have a cow moose tag this year.
I suppose a guy can do things the hard way. I'm not even going to pretend on some hardcore hunting method.......I will just drive from camp to camp and ask if they have seen a moose. They won't talk elk...but they will light up about moose.

______

That may be true, even more so with cows, but I hope to arrow a decent bull and that won’t come easy. I don’t want to compete, I want to hunt without the worry of combat moose hunting archery vs ML or if still going, rifles.

 

[cnelk]

When I killed my B&C Colorado Shiras, I was surprised how it similarly compared to a big bull elk. More leggy tho.
Packing sucked, like most pack outs do.

But moose hunting isn’t a backcountry ordeal. Try to stay within 1/2mi of transportation.

 

[Jbehredt]

Agreed with above. Shiras are not the giants that Yukons are. The quarters suck a bit more but I’d much rather pack a moose a mile than an elk a couple miles.

Leg left intact for scale since we could allllllmost see the truck

 

[Coveyleader]

Excellent guys, I’ve been around them all spring and I noiced they’re all legs, and don’t look that much bigger than a big bull elk. Just more bone.

 

[Tmac]

My experience. A big Shiras is usually heavier than a big Rocky Mt. elk. A big Rocky Mt. elk is often heavier than some Shiras. If you are talking Roosevelt elk, they are closer in weight when both are big, imo. Antler width does not tell you much about the weight of the Bull. We’ve killed two WY Shiras, been around a couple others. Both of our kills were very big bodied old bulls, 32” and 42” wide. 32” bull was the heaviest. Seen other Shiras that had better antlers, yet were noticeably smaller in body. Both processors we took the moose to commented on their weight, so I am guessing the two we took were heavier than average? Shiras have very long legs, are very heavy in the head/neck/shoulders, just built differently than elk. Moose seemed to have thicker skin too. Been around a bunch of elk kills, including big OR rocky mt. bulls. My experience anyway, which may be jaded due to the large sized Shiras we took. Regardless, a big bull of either species is a major chore, especially if you want to keep the hide or at least most of it.

 

[Coveyleader]

No hide coming out if I arrow one. Meat, and skull cap if possible. Need to see if I can just bring a jaw bone out otherwise whole skull needs to come out for tooth extraction.

 

[cnelk]

I think entire head is mandatory to submit to CPW for CWD testing. At least mine was.

 

[idelkslayer]

My shiras bull was a 3-4 year old bull.

Hind quarters: 70 lbs each,
Front shoulders: 60 lbs each,
neck/backstraps/other loose meat: 60 lbs,
Skull and antlers: 30 lbs,
Cape: 50 lbs.
Remaining hide: 40 lbs.

 

[wildhorsetrail]

From my experience a shiras bull has quite a bit more meat than a bull elk.

Sent from my moto g(7) supra using Tapatalk

 

[jeffpg]

I took a very big bodied Shiras in Idaho back in 2008 and was very fortunate to be able to get my quad close to him.

I have drawn another tag for moose in NW Montana this year and I somehow get the feeling that I won't get as lucky as I did in Idaho... I believe I am going to find and kill a big bull, but I just don't expect it to be anywhere close to where I can get a vehicle. I won't be taking a quad to Montana, not that it would likely do me any good.

 

[cowboy300]

4 quarters skinned/lower leg removed/ bone in were 300lbs hanging weight off my CO Shiras last year. That doesn’t include neck meat, loins and tender loins.

 

[justin davis]

I’ve been a part of two Colorado shiras moose. They are definitely bigger than bull elk. Bigger quarters and bigger back straps ect. More meat forsure. The head and cape by itself is much heavier than bull elk. I’ve killed some big bull elk, and Moose are defiantly bigger by a long shot

 

[sndmn11]

I’ve been a part of two Colorado shiras moose. They are definitely bigger than bull elk. But they aren’t as big as you imagine. But defiantly bigger quarters and bigger back straps extra. More meat forsure. I’ve killed some big bull elk, and Moose are defiantly bigger

How many homes in CO do you think have two CO Shiras in a room?

 

[Maverick1]

Some good advice here. They are big! Some moose are bigger than an elk, some comparable, and some might be smaller. As mentioned, the work involved in packing one out depends on the location where they tip over.

I shot a mature cow moose and was very fortunate where she went down, which resulted in a very short pack job. I trained for a lot more work than it ended up being! I have definitely had tougher pack out with bull elk, but that's mostly because of the distance involved.

Good luck on your hunt!

 

[Larry Bartlett]

150-175-lbs give or take difference between the two.

 

[jray5740]

My dads moose here in CO was significantly larger and heavier than any elk we had been lucky enough to harvest. That moose was a serious endeavor to pack out. It was 41", but man it had a body. I think its really going to depend on what animal you are lucky enough to harvest as to the difference between the two

 

[Wrench]

Elk weigh #1000 and shiras weigh #1500......on the internet.

 

[2rocky]

Joe Back would pack out an elk in sawn/axe split quarters on 2 horses.

The Shiras would be 3 horses. He'd put he ribs on one horse, shoulders on another, hinds on the third.