Older elk, especially the older bulls will have a light buckskin color to them. Bulls that have a darker, shiny coat will be younger bulls. Deer will have more gray in their coats, moose will be dark brown to just about all black, and horses will vary greatly in color, but will generally have a saddle on them as well as a bridal and a lead rope, and perhaps even another hunter. The muzzle and head of a big and mature bull will be more massive than that of the younger bulls. A mature bull may weigh from 700 pounds to as much as 1000 pounds live weight, and that would be an exceptional animal.
Bulls are bigger than cows as are cows bigger than calves.
A cow elk may run from 500 - 800 pounds and calves will be anywhere from around the 100 pound range to several hundred pounds. The weight of the calf would vary depending on when they were born and the time of the year you are hunting. A hunter living in elk country has the advantage of first hand knowledge of the living library where the elk hunter that resides where there are no elk has to depend on pictures and books. All the tiny details of the puzzle fit together faster and easier for the hunter in elk country than the other hunter. The hunter that does not reside in elk country needs to look at pictures, and lots of pictures to try and pick out the subtle differences amoung the elk.