I almost exclusively hunt tree rats with air guns. When I use BP it's a light load in my .45 KY rifle with PRB. But, I also make sure there is a backstop. I hope to have a BP scatter gun one day.
For calls, I usually just imitate a chatter with my mouth similar to a raccoon. Or, make a kissing action on my hand to imitate their whistles. They will usually call back. Then I just either sit tight for a shot, or move in closer if needed.
I prefer just sitting under some light cover. But I will spot and stalk if called for.
So far, the squirrels are thick in NW Alabama this year.
Update...
I've never cared fo using dogs for hunting. Period. Im not against it in any way. I have just always preferred hunting without one. But I may just change my mind.
As some of you have seen in another thread I have recently adopted a new pup which we named Lil Bonnie Blue, Bonnie for short. She is from an Australian Shepherd mom and a Redbone dad. I picked her up last week and we immediately bonded. She has become my Shadow. I simply got her for a woods companion, not a hunting dog.
Deer season ends tomorrow, so yesterday I went out to try and get at least one more. I decided to take Bonnie back to the shooting shack with me just to see how she does.
To start, I'm gonna have to get up a LOT earlier when she goes with me. By the time I got her fed, took her outside, then got her back in, I barely had time to get my breakfast cooked in time. Then, when we got outside and started crossing the field to get back there she thought is was play time again! I really had a time trying to see her in the dark with her dark marbled fur! Looking back, it was very comical. I imagine I would have looked pretty clueless, and would have been the laughing stock of the deer camp had we been there!
I finally reach the steps to the shooting house and walk in. She bounds up behind me and plops down on an old cushion left over from a long gone ladder stand. She lays down and quickly drifts off to sleep, with only the occasional whimper originating from her dreams to remind me she was there. The only sounds heard was the occasional squirrel, including one that was chattering just outside.
After a couple of hours of not seeing anything, she got up and walked to the door with a soft whine. I eased open the door, checking for deer so I didn't spook any. She growled and darted down the steps! I looked up in time to see the chatter box squirrel run from a fallen log and up a small oak, where it hid from her in the crotch about 10 feet up about 30 yards from me.
As she barked and growled at the bottom of the tree, I knew the squirrel never acknowledged me. So, I reached over and grabbed a .22 air unmentionable that I always keep out there just for tree rats. The lead hit with a thud 1/4 inch to the right of my mark, going into the base of the skull at the neck and coming out the opposite ear. Mission accomplished!
The tree rat fell and landed just in front of little Bonnie. She immediately grabbed it up and started shaking it wildly. After a minute or so, she dropped it and was just pushing it with her paw. I told her "bring it ", a command she has just learned during play time. She immediately grabbed it by the body and brought it. With her still being such a small pup, her head was as high as she could raise it with the head and butt of the squirrel still dragging the ground. It was adorably comical! I would have laughed had I not been so proud of my new pup!
I layed it on the small deck and we both went inside. When I closed the door she looked up at me and patted it with her paw. So, doubtful I would see a deer, I opened it. There she sat, for the next hour, eyes darting between the ground and the trees. She was looking for her next trophy!
As I walked her this morning she got her nose on the ground as though she had caught a scent. She immediately ran to the hickory behind the house and began looking up! The look of sadness and disappointment broke my heart when I called her away because there was no squirrel. But the extra praise and treat seemed to cheer her up!
I may just have me a hunter!