You know, I was 13 when I began solo deer hunting. When I was 12, I had a tree stand on my parents property that I put out corn to bait squirrels in. I would spend many morning and afternoons on the weekends going out to that stand by myself and bringing back my prey.

Granted, there is a difference between short periods of small game hunting, and the way my family goes deer hunting. We walk into the woods and sit all day. I was a fidgety little kid who needed more time to calm down to handle the patient sitting of stand hunting.

Every individual child needs to have their parents assess their skills to make the final decision. Personally I think laws that state 16, or 17, are overreaching. In the end, we don't want to see people get hurt, but we need to let people make their own choices as a society and to have them deal with any consequences.

I know so many people like my brother and myself who began solo deer hunting at 12 or 13 and have never had any issues. Then again, most of the people around here hunt in groups where they provide a support network for the other members of their party. To say that someone has to sit right next to them seems silly to me.

Let parents parent, and if the Wisconsin tradition holds true, then no issues should occur.