RE: Mentored youth?
I was actually thinking about this as well...........I fully appreciate and understand the need to get their noses out of the Portable Playstations and away from Hannah Montana and at least expose and introduce them to the outdoors but the unlimited age things is a little sketchy for me too.
It has nothing to do with being greedy about the animals they are killing, it's more of the notion that these young kids are maybe being pressured into feeling like killing something is the driving force and THAT'S the definition of success.......at 5,6,7 years old is a kid developmentally ready to shoot a deer with a high powered rifle and kill it? Hell they're still watching Sponge Bob at that age.
I think there should honestly be levels for participation , small game and squirrels for kids 7-10 which would eliminate the adult ego concern and give the kids more plentiful game and maybe a concept of life and death a little easier to grasp than standing over a deer. Then at 10-12 they can graduate to actual mentored deer and turkey hunting. They're more mature as kids and better able to handle the arms needed to take these animals.
At some point we need to realize that our kids involvement in the outdoor sports and namely hunting have more to do with the time shared with a caring parent or mentor rather than the attempt at instant gratification of "Scoring"
It's an Xbox world and I don't think we should turn the woods into that either even though the Xbox is apparently stiff competition.
There are plenty of ways for a youngster to be involved with dad on a deer hunt, the killing IMO is not necessary.
I'm 100% in favor of mentored youth hunting but not wild about the way it is being regulated personally. I know if I'm lucky enough to have a son or daughter or find myself charged with introducing a youngster to hunting i will do it a bit differently than "All in" at the earliest age and put the emphasis on killing.
I want the desire to hunt to come from something else.