I live and hunt in MD and everything I have read or heard is thats it is going to be drastically different from last year. I killed 2 big bucks the 1st week of Nov last year and as far as Im concerned it was one of the most pronounced ruts I can ever remember. I had more deer responding to calls and seen more shooters on their feet than any year in recent history for me. This year is suppose to be quite a bit less pronounced and more of the, well for lack of a better word "trickle" rut. All predictions indicate that most active time is suppose to be from about the 12th to 19th which seems a little late from my experiences on my own hunting grounds. Ive read all of Alsheimers books and several off the shelf magazines this year and they all say the same thing as far as a later in the month rut. I dont how much stock you put into that type of stuff but I believe in it somewhat. I say somewhat because I also believe weather is the biggest factor of them all and hunting pressure is a close 2nd. I personally didnt change my yearly vacation dates due to the predictions and I will be in the woods fron Nov 2 to Nov 13th. Guess its all in your own personal judgement but just letting you know everything I have seen and read for this year. Good luck and I hope you pick the right timing for your area.