Well i grew up eating nothing but wild game, and it was mostly moose! You get a big bull in august, and the meat is hard to beat, tender and not gamey, wolves havent been running them and of course they havent started rutting... That being said about early moose, a rutting bull... wouldn't feed it to my friends or family, it doesnt matter how careful you are about keeping the hair off the meat, you can throw the meat in the river, whatever tricks i have tried the meat is gamely as can be... and it can be pretty nasty... Early moose is hands down the way to go... However i would take a second rut elk over a august moose anytime! But then again I have eaten more moose than your average wolf, so elk has been a very nice change!