Dan, no I dont think he was rutting yet I think he just spilled coffee on them that morning They are definetly about the darkest Ive seen. I killed an 8 a few weeks ago that were almost that black but not quite. Just so everyone knows I dont put down anyone for shooting young bucks, does, ect. Whatever gets you excited. I think everyone goes through that stage where a spike or even doe gets you excited. Then the more game you take or when you finally kill a mature deer then your attitude might change a little. I killed plenty and they all got me excited, then I killed a real nice 9 pointer that didnt have a tooth in his head and it changed from there. I'm proud of everything I harvested but taking a big mature whitetail is just a different feeling for me. They're out there just have to work for them. The big thing I've noticed over the last 5 years is that people cant ride a 4 wheeler within a few hundred yards of there stand they wont even bother.