One is going to haul an elk out of the mountains, and he's worried about packing 1 to 2 lbs of extra weight up the hill? My premier concern with whatever unit I select is accuracy, and I'm thinking of taking a 15 lb Sharps for the next go.
You’re really worried about rifle weight while hunting elk? The Howa 1500 std .473 bolt LA barreled action weighs 5 lbs. Find a 28 oz stock and 10 oz scope and you have a nicely balanced alpine rifle weighing around 7.25 lbs.
If you’re not packing out with a horse/mule you’ll have to tote around 120 lbs per quarter times 4 quarters at possibly very high altitude. Still worried about that 7.25 lbs rifle.
Even if you have horse/mule pack out you’ll expend considerable energy and endurance just carving and packing the animal. My point is you need to be in very good condition to enjoy an elk hunt, your rifle weight in my opinion and my experience at hunting and packing out elk at 10,000 ft would be the least of worries on the hunt. Only one man’s opinion.
I think a person can be concerned about more than one thing at once. Asking about rifle weight doesn’t mean I’m not interested in accuracy, my own physical conditioning, or the tons of other things that factor into an elk hunt.
