RE: When is the rut?
Now there's a " sucker " question if I ever heard one LOL. No disrespect meant TC, but only a sucker would open himself up to the gang bang that's sure to follow, but what the hay, it can't be as bad as jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.
Different latitudes, IMHO. Kind of like asking the question " why is it 0* here on the first day of winter, yet 78* in Miami. Why do people break out the goose down in Syracuse, but bikinis in Tampa? Still winter. Solar presence simply at a different angle. Possibly that is part of the equation. Like JPIKE said, axis of the earth. I dare say that if you follow the latitude that Elmira/Bath NY lays on, both to the East and the West, the timing that I have presented rings fairly true along that course. Of course, there will always be folks presenting the exceptions.
Evolution, IMHO, determines the timing, giving offspring the best, optimum opportunity for survival. As I said before. The timing that I have observed provides that window. That being said, every once in awhile mother nature throws them a curve. As I have said repeatedly throughout my posts on this subject, my estimates on when the PEAK rut begins is STRICTLY based on MY location upon the globe. Obviously the rut starts/stops at different times based on locale on earth.
Rather than all the arguing, why not give it a try, keeping in mind that it will take more than a couple of years.