And so, it begins – we work and wait all year long for this season! In early September through mid-January, the weekends at GC are filled with wide-eyed kiddos and supportive adult mentors who take on the challenge of hunting wild game.  We start the season off with action-packed dove hunting, where youth spend afternoons staked out in brush blinds in our mixed field of sunflowers and wheat.  We are lucky that our field sits between corn fields, wooded areas and watering spots.  This makes for the perfect flyover area.  On October 17th, we kicked off our eighth waterfowl hunting season at Gardner Camp.  Tucked away into seemingly invisible blinds, youth are able to see large numbers of waterfowl and wait for ducks and geese to circle and fall into their hunting area.  Right in the middle of waterfowl season and then after waterfowl season is over, we take a break for deer shotgun and archery seasons.  Located in Pike county and surrounded by corn fields, we see lots of nice deer on our trail cameras each year.  Could you be lucky enough to have a whitetail come close enough to your blind?  That’s the joy and challenge of hunting. Strategically locating our blinds for a successful hunt is something at which we work hard.  This year’s hunting spots are filled, however, to apply to hunt at Gardner Camp next year, find out more information at www.gardnercamp.org/mentored-youth-hunting/.