Actually, my neighbor' s coworker shot a nice 9 pointer two nights ago. Its neck was swollen and it was chasing two does around a field for a good 30 minutes. I have also been seeing the first few scrapes of the year appearing on field edges and trail intersections. Is it possible that the rut is going to be a bit early this year? I always tend to follow that " two weeks after the second full moon following the autumnal equinox" theory. Today is a full moon but I am unsure if it is the second or the first since the autumnal equinox. If it is the second then that would put the start of the actual peak rutting stage in about two weeks.....a bit earlier than normal.