I've waffled back and forth as to which I like better between moose and elk. First bull moose I shot in AK, I remember thinking at the time, I think I like this better than elk! After moving back to Idaho and shooting a few cow elk. I determined, from personal tastes, it's a bit of a toss up between the two. However, I will say that I've eaten some rutting bull elk that were flavor wise, less than ideal and on the other hand, have shot and been in on the killing of some old rutting bull moose, one being a 68" heavy racked fellow that was just a tad bit tougher, not chewy at all, just a little tougher than some younger bulls, but had an excellent flavor. I think if I were to group big older rutting elk with big older rutting moose, the moose would win out, IMO!
I've contemplated the differences over the years, concerning the toughness of the meat and my conclusion is, right or wrong, elk are much more wary and excitable, move around in generally much more extreme terrain in general (think steep) and will spook and run for longer distances than moose, thus the differences in how tough the meat is. Again in general, you pop an elk and if it's not planted on the spot, it's off to the races! With a moose, if you pop one, it may stand there, making you think that you missed, so you pop it again and perhaps again until it falls over!
