Rattling works, but you need to feel out the bucks. Sometimes gentle sparring sounds work well, but sometime you bring in the smaller spikes that way. Aggressive rattling should be reserved for full rut and only if you're trying to bring in an aggressive buck. You'll want to dope his scrapes with some buck urine and make him think another buck is moving in on his territory.
Often rattling won't work for you if cover is such that the bucks can come in close enough to see there's no bucks... If the bucks are hiding in cover, rattling won't bring them into view unless there's a doe or another buck in sight.
A grunt before and after rattling can often bring a buck in from cover. Never call when an animal is looking at you though - they'll laser you and your cover is blown. So if you've been calling and rattling a bit, leave the calls alone and just rattle non-aggressively. It helps to put your antlers under your legs when sitting so you can rattle them without moving much.
In short, if rattling isn't working, try something else. It's possible you got busted and never knew it. The same trick often won't work twice. Still hunting is an option as well. If I'm having a hard time in an area (IE: not seeing anything) than I'll still hunt BETWEEN the trails near scrapes and try to find a food source. Don't walk down the trails or you'll leave your scent behind - not unusuale to find scrapes abandoned after you do this.
Good Luck!
