Seems like things are heating up here in Central Ill .Just last tuesday I watched a button buck Chase the hell out for a group of does .But dont really think it has much to do with the rut ,Once the daylight hours starts to drop I think things will start to swing in effect .Have seen no signs such a scrapes or rubs ,but counting the mins !!!Plus I have always thought the weeks leading up to the rut had some of the best hunting around my parts.

I read that same article about the moon study in Deer & Deer Hunting. I think it is likely to be relatively accurate. I do recall the last time we had a late rut moon(2nd full moon after autumn equinox) the rut was weak and drawn out. I think that was 1998. Then, the rut in 1999 was early and intense! Anyway, I am hoping to tag early. I hunt mostly public land so I want to be done prior to small game season and all that added pressure as I do not think this years rut will be all that great. The article also mentions other factors that influence the intensity of the rut such as hunting pressure, weather, and buck-to-doe ratio. Also, for those that say the rut is 1st 2 weeks in November, that is a very general statement. If we could set our watch by it, there probably wouldnt be very many deer left! LOL Go get em boys!

No i don't have a fax number, but that's cool, you don't need to go to a bunch of work. Thanks
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