Here in Giles County based on my own observations, I started seeing what I consider real rutting activity on Tuesday Nov 13 and peaking around the 18-19th. I am still seeing some chasing and still seeing young bucks cruising but a lot less than in previous days. I've witnessed 2 nice bucks tending does in the last 2 days. Even during my peak dates though, there were "lulls" in the action and periods of 4 hours of more where there was no action where I was at. Had I not spent dozens of previous hours in the woods in the days prior to these lulls, I would have thought that my deer were not in rut or that my area was behind schedule, when the truth of the matter was that I was simply in a spot where there was no action at that specific time. It's easy to mistake these lulls as "my deer not being in rut" and if you aren't able to spend ten hours or more in the woods a day in different spots, you may never see the real picture. Sign in the form or scrapes and rubs can vary from year to year depending upon the structure of your herd and in my opinion is not likely to contribute to you killing ole big boy during the rut anyways.. During this time of the year I think it's best to hunt where you see the most deer, not the most sign and maybe even more importantly, sit for as long as your wife/girlfriend or boss will allow you to. An extra ten minutes on the stand can be the difference between an awful morning and the best hunt of your life ! So give the girls a chance and let them slickheads be the key that unlocks the deadbolt of ole mossyhorns. Happy hunting....