well for what its worth....... in the pre rut i am not nearly as aggresive as later in the year.... sort of just tickle the horns together ever so often...... no grunting or anything like kicking the dirt and hitting the brush with the horns..... as soon as you SEE signs of the rut get agressive and loud with the horns... in all the fights i have witnessed i have never heard any grunts during the fight.... once they make eye contact and they both realize the fight is coming they tend to get really focused on combat..... (plus im usually too winded to blow the old grunt tube).... and when being agressive with the horns i will hit them for about a minute and then wait about two or three and do it again while making noise with my feet.... as in deer pushing and falling and just thrashing around.... then wait another minute or two and rattle again...... then i will wait about an hour before going after it again if sitting in the same spot..... watching for the ones sneaking in.... and they will sneak in.... be very very still as they are on full alert looking so they wont walk into a a** whooping...if walking i will move about two to three hundred yards before doing it again...
after saying all that you have to know that its like playing a musical instrument.... like willie nelson and uncle ted...... they are very different but oh so very right.....