Just to clarify, and I am not expecting it to change, but the elk rut is not limited to the period of the 8th to the 21st of September. In fact, some would argue that the peak is from the 20th to the first week in October. State game biologists have told me before that they believe the peak rut falls after early archery season and this is the main reason for not changing the season to the 15th to 30th of Sep.
Archery season is mostly pre and early/to mid rut. In some years, muzzleloaders are the ones hunting the peak rut. Just my 2 cents.