I'm a firm believer the only thing that is of real relevance to the actual rut is when the cows come into estrous.
Yes the bulls know its coming but it's all foreplay, they arent truly rutting til those cows are ready to breed.
Then you get those REAL magical 3 days of complete chaos.
I just watched a free dvd with the bok Im reading, "Elk Hunting The West," it has footage of what Mike Eastman calls a rut fest. Pure chaos, elk screaming, chasing, fighting, glunking, cows chirping in a remote meadow. Unreal to watch.
It only confirmed that it is all on the cows.
Good book by the way, if you hunt elk, it's worth reading. Twice.
Anotehr good book I just read is Bowhunting Trophy Blacktails by Cameron Hanes, another good read.
Next is, "Backcountry Bowhunting." By then I should be driving east and my island bow buck will be @ the butchers