I need to be educated on squirrel calls.

[bernie]

I have squirrel hunted for most of my life, but I have pretty much used spot and stalk, or finding a likely spot and sitting down to wait for the little dumpling meats to show up.

However, my 10 year old son has started going with me and shooting this year, and yes, it is great fun. However, he has dug out a couple of squirrel calls that I had bought in years past, and wants to use them. I have tried them, and had no success.

I have a squirrel whistle that sounds like a squirrel in trouble, and a squirrel "bark" call.

I have tried these in the past using the manufacturers instructions with no positive results. Do any of you use and like squirrel calls?

What do you use, how do you use it, and what are the times of year and conditions that they work?

Thanks.

 

[308win]

Two quarters rubbed together to make a squirrel bark; gets other real squirrels in the area to respond. I have never had much luck calling them in but they are territorial so who knows.

 

[trigga]

one of my uncles use a hard herbal leaf or some sort of leaf, folds them in half and sucks between the gap. i have one of those plastic walmart calls and compared to the sound of him sucking one the leaf, the leaf sounds a lot higher pitch and if you do it right, it will slightly vibrate the noise. it works most of the time. not my plastic call though.

 

[CajunBass]

I've used a couple of squirrel calls over the years, and in my experience I've never been able to "call" a squirrel like you'd think of calling a duck or a turkey. What a call has done for me is get a squirrel to bark back at me and give me an idea where he is.

 

[1911 guy]

You've got the most common calls.

The bark and the squeal. Both can work, it depends on the time of year, time of day and the local tree rat population.

For the bark call, use it around dawn and dusk, when squirrels are beginning and ending their feeding. Right at dawn, it can put you on the early risers, they may bark back at you. When they're feeding and chattering on their own, don't call. Just watch for tails. It is impossible for a squirrel to bark without flipping his tail. When they slow down, use your call again for a chance to locate ones still outside the dens.

The squeal is best early in the season and is essentially a reverse predator call. Find a spot near a den, then find a good hiding spot to mask your movement but still allow you to shoot. Grab a bush or small sapling and shake it violently for a second or two. Now start blowing in bursts through the call. Slow down the shaking and the squealing gradually. Start to finish should be 10 to 15 seconds. This imitates a small squirrel being grabbed by a predator. When the young are still hanging in the general area as the older ones, this will usually get a response.