I have a pretty strong opinion on minimum age for hunting. Today it is felt by many that we need to get them out at an early age or lose them to the sport. People are having their child get hunter ed as early as 8 and then getting them out for a few deer before they turn them loose. All kids are different with regard to their maturity so it is difficult to say when one is mature enough to hunt and another isn't. Hunting is a rewarding and dangerous endeavor just like driving and most states have a minimum age of 16 when it is believed the child can make mature decisions behind the wheel. Having a child between the age of 10 and 14 sitting with a lethal weapon alone is just asking for trouble and not really fair to the child. I started to hunt at 12 but was in direct contact with my father. Prior to that, I tagged along without a gun starting at age 10. When I reached 15 I was allowed to hunt on my own which in retrospect might have been OK for a kid like I was who grew up in the woods but not as a blanket for all kids. I know several parents who pushed their kids to hunt at an early age and it actually burned them out and they stopped hunting. Most kids at age 10 or 12 can’t take the slow pace of deer hunting and would rather be doing things with their friends.