The sweet spot for an elk rifle is somewhere between six and eight pounds without a scope. You can go a bit lighter if you are doing a dedicated backcountry hunt on foot with lots of vertical, but just know that ultralight rifles in hard-kicking calibers don’t shoot as well as a more balanced rig. You can go a bit heavier than 8 pounds if you like, but that’s a pretty good cap as the majority of elk hunts involve climbing and rough terrain, and keeping your rifle’s weight to reasonable limit will preserve your legs and lungs.