That variation in wild game is exactly what my wife Eileen's big game "cookbook", Slice of the Wild, is all about. They're not cookie-cutter animals like corn-fed steers. Instead each animal is an individual, and the toughness, taste and hence cooking methods depend not just on the individual animal but field-care. Which is why the first 2/3 of the book are about all those things, before even getting to the 100 recipes.
What I'm wondering is whether your bull moose was "aged" very long before butchering. The first moose Eileen ever helped butcher was a big bull--but taken during late November, well after the rut. But the guy who killed it only waited until the carcass cooled before butchering, and the meat Eileen got was very tough.
We have aged big bull elk for at least two weeks before butchering, and while not as tender as younger elk, they were pretty chewable when cooked correctly.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
