I don't find having an ultra-light rifle to be all that important elk hunting, or even dall sheep hunting. As long as it is not overly heavy- like a varmint rifle, it should work fine. I'd say my whole set up weighs maybe 9-10lbs loaded, and I routinely walk 10+ miles a day deer and elk hunting, over very rough terrain with no problem. The way I look at it, if you can't haul around a little 10lb rifle all day, how are you going to pack out an entire elk?