RE: rut in North Carolina
Click is right about the rut starting at different times for different parts of the state. The same thing happens in Florida. Last year I saw a list that gave the date of the peak rut, and it had a county by county breakdown. This was obtained by several previous years rutting times as observrd by the state biologists.
If you contact the Game commision for the state you are going to visit and ask how you might be able to speak with a state biologist. These are hardworking people who can give you some of the best info available. They can possibly give you the exact date for the county you are going to.