My son killed a rio and an eastern at age 6 and killed a doe and dandy 9 pt last year. I had him shooting off a bench at age 3 and we just progressed. He has shot a number of coons out of traps and then we moved on to squirrels. For deer and turkeys a blind is a must in my opinion. Shooting stix are great too. He shoots a youth remington 870 20 guage for turkey and killed his first deer at 100 yards with a ruger compact 243. He shot his buck with my ruger 270. The big thing with kids is don't let the noise or recoil get to them. My son has no idea that there is bird shot and turkey loads. We practiced with #8's and then I slipped the 5's in before hunting. Use ear protection and make them wear a heavy coat to help absorb the recoil. Best of luck, there is nothing like watching your child take his/her first deer or turkey.