Old thread but still a conversation that arises every once in a while. Me and the wife just had this conversation a few days ago regarding my two sons. On one hand I have taking my older son out squirrel hunting with my father and myself when he was 3. He is 4 now and will continue for this next season, and we will probably take him deer hunting come next season to sit in a blind with us. The younger one will be three this Nov and will probably join us out for squirrel as well.
I see no issue taking a child at any age but we as adults have to understand a child will not sit in a stand all day like we will. Tailor the day with the child in mind and hope for the best.
As to the issue with a child being the trigger puller but not field dressing the deer. I am fine with that as well. I can teach my child to shoot any day of the year, I cannot teach them to field dress an animal without an animal. After they or yourself get a deer then they can start learning how to field dress a deer and butcher one. I have plenty of pics as a child and my dad using our metal play set in the back yard to butcher the deer. We would swing while he cut the deer up and we would watch and learn. I also used to box his deer like Rocky was doing cattle when that movie first came out, fun stuff.
Also keep in mind some folks have been raised on a farm or around cattle and other livestock and seeing death/ birth and butchering has been a part of our lives since we where born. So not everyone was raised and only got to see death and butchering jobs when deer season came around.