Im reading a great book right now...based on northern states (Northeastern section) anyway he states the Rut will start 28 days (give or take a few days) following the "pre rut frenzy" which is a 48-72 hour period with all the signs of the real rut. He say's this frenzy period will come around the 13th-15th of October obviously give or take a few days. What to look for: He say's right now the bucks obviously still in bachelor groups and in their feeding patterns. Soon the bucks will catch a wiff of a very Mature doe or for that matter several mature does going into estrus which is the trigger for this frenzy phase. So.....no scrapes and rubs right now (few out there)but when all of a sudden you do see this all happening....28 days from then is the peak rut. Oh yeah...the rut is onlykicked off by one thing...preorbital gland, which is what monitors the decrease in daylight helping trigger chemicals to the brain to start rutting behavior.Great book!!! check it out. Its called Whitetail Strategies the ultimate guide by Peter Fiduccia