I am going to throw a wrench into this arguement.

Many acomplished trophy hunters feel that the rut is NOT a good time to tagthe particular buck they are going after.

Guys like Adam Hayes (killed 3 200+ inchers in Oct) and Bill Winke (Peterson's Bowhunting) for example, feel that before the rut isthe time to pattern and kill the buck they are after. Once the rut starts these buckswill become unpredictable.