I'm not going to tell another parent what he should or shouldn't do with his son/daughter on their own land. But I will tell you what happened to me if you don't mind a quick story:
My oldest son was 11 when I started letting him hunt by himself with a bow, which felt much safer for both him and anyone else who might walk up. Keep in mind he started shooting when he was 5 and regularly out-shot most of the men in our club (not just another dad bragging, I swear..lol)... The next season I let him sit on stand by himself with his 243. All was well until the last day of the season. He was hunting in an area where several people had sworn they saw a mountain lion, here in Alabama in all places. I can attest to seeing some very large cat tracks but was not convinced that we had a mountain lion on this piece of property. But anyway, 30 minutes before dark I heard him shoot. My heart sank into my stomach. It was the first time he had shot a gun while hunting by himself and I only thought I was prepared for that moment. I waited nervously until he called me on the phone. He was crying and asked me to come to his stand right away. I have never ran that fast in my life. Come to find out he had seen what he thought was that cat and got scared and shot at it. My heart sank even lower. I yelled at him and threatened to beat the living crap out of him - how dare he shoot at something that he could not positively identify! We looked and looked around there area he fired. I was praying the whole time that we did not find blood because I would not bear the thought of what he might have shot. Well after carefully searching for over an hour, we didn't find anything and left. He cried all the way home and honestly so did I. My son was scared, not only at the perceived threat but because he realized what could have possibly gone wrong. I felt like crap because it was then that I realized that I had rushed him into a situation he was not ready for. It is our responsibilty as parents to make the right decisions and if there would have been an accident it would have been totally my fault. My son is very mature for his age and a very confident kid, but he was still just a kid... Needless to say the next season he was back in the stand with me and another year before he was back on his own. We both learned a valuable lesson that day. I just ask that parents please consider not just your child's physical abilities but his mental abilities as well. Sometimes it is hard as a Dad to honestly judge your child without prejudice. If you love him or her like I know you do, you owe it to them to seriously consider whether or not they are ready to hunt alone.
I apologize for the long post but I hope just one person will learn something from my story. Again I'm not going to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't do... Also if you know my child or ever meet him, please never bring this up to him. He is still embarrased about that incedent and would die if he knew I posted it on the internet... By the way my youngest son is about to turn 11 and is ever bit as responsible and safe as my oldest was, but the poor kid has to hunt with good ole Dad a lot longer than he would like. I refuse to make the same mistake twice!
Good luck and be safe!
CJ