The science boys will always tell you that rut behavior is triggered by photoperiod and not weather. If it's hot they just do it at night. The anecdotal stories are always about the weather or the moon. Who is right?

Sorry, I was out of town or hunting for the last two weeks. Photoperiod means the amount of daylight. It triggers a variety of seasonal changes like the leaves turning and also chemical changes in deer species that are responsible for rutting behavior.
A lot of anectodal evidence says weather, the moon etc. affect the timing of the rut but the biologists insist that daylight is the key. Weather and other factors may mean they do it at night but because the success of young animals depends a lot on when they are born animal breeding is closely tied to seasonal variations in daylight to ensure the young are born at the right time in the spring.
Bioguy might have confirmation or clarification is he sees this.

I hear ya, there always seems to be difference between empirical experience and scientific studies. Just for giggles type in "causes of the rut in elk" in the search engine of your choice and see what comes up. Everything I can find says it's the daylight but I am not a biologist, just a landscaper with more time to read than hunt while I'm in school. I hope the elk are kind to you this year regardless of when they breed.