I don't know where exactly youre hunting but i hunt south arkansas also. i saw over a hundred deer this weekend. killed a 7 pt with a 17 inside spread and a little over 18 out.
They were everywhere this past weekend. I will be back saturday.
and youre right they are not rutting . the buck i killed had swollen tarsals and smelled ripe but went to eating acorns even though there wer some 8 does in the area at the time.
The all mighty biologist know it alls are wrong as usual. every doe i saw had yearlings with them. one even let them suck. now what that tells me is a lot of does bred late last year. hummm december and jan rut? YEAH! but the all mighty biologist with the AG&F will tell you they are in rut now. NOT!!!!!!
Good luck and keep hunting especially next month late season. the last muzzle loader season into jan. IMO will be the best time to catch a real buck moving.

SOUTH ARKANSAS REBEL