ORIGINAL: Rob/PA Bowyer
Doesn't matter if your in VA, SC, ME to CA, soft grunts and contacts calls will work, not every time but they will work.
Rattling? Keepin it light, it really doesn't matter between rattle bags and antlers but for serious rattling, nothing beats the sound of real antlers.
Im going to agree with using the light horns and soft grunts for early season. But when the pre rut starts I'm using heavy horns and loud grunts. I have best luck when rattling around Oct 22nd-Nov 6th. Our buck to doe ratio is almost perfect (thanks EAB and AG tags) which makes the rut intense. Its not uncommon if I rattle between three to six bucks in one sitting between those dates. I also have been skunked before.