Dillonbuck, youths 11 years of age and under are able to buy a Mentored Youth Hunting Permit and can hunt woodchuck, squirrel, antlered and anterless deer, coyotes and spring and fall turkey....they must be accompanied by a licensed mentor 21 years of age or older.
I considered starting my son in the mentored hunting program when he was younger, but I decided to wait until he was 12 to get a license. He tagged along with me deer hunting when he was 11 but didn't shoot. Maybe if I had started him out at a younger age he would be more enthusiatic about hunting than he seems to be right now. Who knows?
I wondered whether it was a good idea to have any person killing game with firearms who believed wholeheartedly that a fat man flying a reindeer sleigh and wearing a red velvet suit squeezed his way down our chimney and left our house full of gifts.
It's a personal choice, and I have absolutely no problem with people who decide the other way. One thing I will say is that we usually hear about and see all of the success stories. However, I am personally aware of one child who started hunting at a young age that has wounded at least four deer with a crossbow and rifle that were never recovered. I am also aware of a different 8 year old who wounded a buck on his first time out that was never recovered. It could happen to any of us, but I believe these were shots (as they were described to me) that most adults, and maybe 12 year-olds, would have made cleanly.
