How big are rocky mountian elk.

AckleyHunter · Friday at 12:06 PM

Some measurements on various rocky mountian elk. We can't weight them in the field, but @cliffgray has several videos where they weight them whole.

Spike bull, based on the 1/3 boned out meat weight, he weighed about 450lbs:
At the shoulder a spike is less then 16 inches wide. Measuring like this they are a little wider because the knees pokeout. Next time I think we will try measuring them on their side.

Behind the shoulder about 14 inches:

Diagonial from the last rib to in front of the off shoulder about 21 inches:

At the belly about 21 inches:

Distance from base of neck to behind the shoulder:

Overall length about 52 inches:

AckleyHunter · Friday at 12:18 PM

Cow elk. Based on boned out meat, about 500 lbs:

At the behind the shoulder about 14.5 inches:

At the shoulder about 15 inches:

Diagonal from last rib about 21 inches:

At the belly about 19 inches:

From back to belly about 21 inches:

From base of neck to behind the shoulder:

Total overall length about 56 inches:

AckleyHunter · Friday at 12:34 PM

We haven't put down a big bull yet this year, but here are some picks from last years bulls. We are missing some of the measurements. But if we get one down I will update:

This bull was about 750 lbs based on boned out meat weight:

Behind the shoulder about 14.5 inches:

Most of the difference in the size of bulls comes from them being taller and longer and having bigger necks. They really aren't wider than cows and spikes. This bull was over 8 inches longer than the cow. That is a lot of weight in hide.

Mtn_Infantry · Friday at 12:55 PM

Curious to know what state you’re hunting and if you’ve observed areas in different units that fall outside the spectrum.

I’ve personally noticed certain areas and regions typically have bigger bodies than others even in the same state. I’ve seen it in both New Mexico and Idaho where bulls in one area or unit appeared 10-20% larger body wise. It was most apparent for me when I drew my Gila tag vs other bulls I’d seen in say the central part of northeastern part of the state.

AckleyHunter · Friday at 1:37 PM

A second bull from last year. About 650 lbs based on meat weight:

About 13.5 inches behind the shoulder:

About 15 inches at the shoulder:

AckleyHunter · Friday at 1:41 PM

Size of quaters from the cow elk.

Front quater thickness:

Width:

Rear quater thickness:

Width:

For those wondering about packout weight. Rears for these two were 40-50 lbs bone in. The fronts vary alot depending on how much flank meat you leave on, but were 25-40 lbs.

375 Ruger Fan · Friday at 1:47 PM

The University of Wyoming did a study years ago, estimating live weight vs field dressed, etc.

This article references that study.

How much Meat to Pack Out on an Elk?

The amount of meat on an an elk & how to pack out an elk are common questions. Table shows the weight of field dressed elk and the weight of de-boned meat.

www.backcountrychronicles.com

K-man · Friday at 1:50 PM

It’s also important to note if the bull is early in the season or post-rut. They can weigh 60-80 lbs less after the rut.

AckleyHunter · Friday at 2:56 PM

Size of lungs from the spike:

About 12 inches from the front to diaphargm at the bottom of the lungs.

About 21 inches for the longest part at the top.

About 16 inches tall behind the shoulder.

About 12 inches behind the shoulder.

AckleyHunter · Friday at 2:58 PM

Mtn_Infantry said:
Curious to know what state you’re hunting and if you’ve observed areas in different units that fall outside the spectrum.

I’ve personally noticed certain areas and regions typically have bigger bodies than others even in the same state. I’ve seen it in both New Mexico and Idaho where bulls in one area or unit appeared 10-20% larger body wise. It was most apparent for me when I drew my Gila tag vs other bulls I’d seen in say the central part of northeastern part of the state.

We hunt Wyoming. These are from the wind river range or from various areas in sage country.

AckleyHunter · Friday at 3:02 PM

K-man said:
It’s also important to note if the bull is early in the season or post-rut. They can weigh 60-80 lbs less after the rut.

All our hunting is during the rut. The weight comes from neck meat. This is a whole neck rooast from one side. About 25-30 lbs. So both sides are 50-60 lbs.

Muskox · Friday at 3:24 PM

We have weighed elk on livestock scales during part of my wildlife management. These were all captive elk Living at various zoos and other captive herds. Most of the captive bulls Wade a little S then 800 pounds and most of the captive cows weigh a little bit less than 500 pounds. I think most Wild bowls probably weigh somewhere between 700 and 800 pounds for the Rocky Mountain variety. I’ve never physically seen a Tule elk on a scale, so I do not have an answer for that. The zoo in Vancouver, British Columbia Columbia that has Roosevelt elk claims that they the bulls weigh 1100 pounds. I do not know if they have a scale or not.

Mtn_Infantry · Friday at 3:47 PM

AckleyHunter said:
We hunt Wyoming. These are from the wind river range or from various areas in sage country.

Never elk hunted there but have been through there multiple times and seen elk in the area. Your size and weights are spot on with what I’d estimate the elk as.

I’m sure there’s a reason for why the elk in the Gila area always looked and seemed bigger. The pack out and meat yield would also be in-line with at least the bull I killed being 10-20% larger than the other bulls I’ve killed.

steve white · Friday at 4:12 PM

Too big to drag out.....lol

DLSJR · Saturday at 8:16 AM

I hunted on the Baca Ranch in New Mexico back in 1987, before it was donated or sold to the Federal Government and became the Valles Caldera National Monument. They had extensive records that had been kept from most of the elk shot on the ranch over the years, as they tried to bring in as many bulls whole and ungutted as possible. I don’t recall the exact average live weight of Baca bulls, but it was approximately 925 pounds.

Same'Ol · Saturday at 12:08 PM

definitely one of the biggest i have seen.

CloudySkies · Saturday at 6:53 PM

Age plays a big role in size (as that WY study points out), I think also some of the elk that are able to hit irrigation pivots seem to get larger. I took a WY bull last year who would probably be in the 5 year old range, meat came in close to 200lb, which would figure for about 550-600lb. I can tell you I was really glad we could get a truck with a winch close, rather than having to deal with one on the side of steep mountain. And obviously he was nowhere near the biggest we saw - there were bulls that dwarfed this guy.

Safari Dave · Saturday at 7:10 PM

I have killed one and helped with another in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico. I think both were over 600 pounds.

Both seemed to be larger than the Kudu or Gemsbok that I have taken.

Spartan5 · Saturday at 7:46 PM

Thanks for sharing

Muskox · 2026-09-27T05:05:54-0500

For sure elk and red deer are the biggest they will TYPICALLY ever get at 10-12 years of age.

Bigger in body and bigger in antler.

How big are rocky mountian elk.

AckleyHunter

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