Experience and conventional wisdom tells me that when the heavy rut sets in, there's a good chance alot of behavior patterns get tossed out the window and hormones push deer to do things 'out of character'.
I've seen alot of deer come into camp over the years along with stories of "I've hunted this same spot for X years and NEVER seen this buck before"
Yall could very well be in the rut out there in VA, I don't know. The weather will play a part too. A cloudy, cold night with rain/snow may dampen their movement and get them hunkering down, ergo, give you a better chance during the day.
Rattling is very hit or miss but absolutely worth a shot. You kinda have to catch them in the mood but if they are bedded down all day long, they probably won't stir themselves to answer the call, as it were.
Anecdotally, last season I saw next to nothing the first month of the season. Pulled my camera card and had tons of deer(spikes, fork-horns, and does) passing through at all hours of night but seldom anything during the day. Got sent out of town for work, missed some time, and didn't get back until early/mid Dec. Pulled my camera card and holy hell, a monster 7yo drop tine I'd never seen before passing through everyday between 8 and 9am. Next morning I collected him.
Point is, you never know when a break is going to occur. You can pattern deer and make an educated guess but they are prone to shift behavior significantly at any time. Best policy is to never give up. Sure, you may may catch a break but you just might. Heck, I've seen it plenty of times, you invest all this time and effort into this buck and all of a sudden an even better buck shows up unexpectedly one day leaving you scratching your head as to where in the world he came from.