IMO, calling success depends on buck/doe ratio more than anything else. There are other factors to consider (having deer within hearing distance, time of year, weather, blind luck, etc), but I think you need a reasonably balanced herd to expect much success.
Up until about 3 years ago, I never put much stock in calling (and I was hunting areas with out of whack buck/doe ratios). Since then I've moved to an area that seems to have a more balanced herd I've had a lot of success. This is on public land, so I think calling can work anywhere as long as the conditions are right. It's been really interesting to see how deer respond to the different calls. I've rattled in probably 8 bucks or so over the past 3 years and had does come in to bleat calls (which makes sense), but I've had does come to grunt calls and rattling and a buck come to a bleat call (which I didn't expect).
I hunted an Ed Gordon permit hunt last year (an area that seems to have an unbalanced herd) and saw a couple bucks go running like they stole something when I rattled. IMO, if you have a lot more does than bucks then there's no need for a buck to fight for and get beat up over a receptive doe because there's probably another one the next ridge over, so rattling probably won't be effective. I would think bleat calls might be more effective than rattling in unbalanced areas, but I really don't know. I've had success with rattling from early bow season to the mid-December muzzleloader hunt, but the prime time is in the pre-rut. All my success with grunts and bleating have come in early bow season. The order of success is (1) rattling (2) bleating (3) grunting.
Even though I've had quite a bit of success calling, it doesn't work most of the time (but it's sure sweet when it does). This is just one man's opinion and experience, so take it for what it's worth.