My six, almost seven, year-old daughter was with me when we knocked down an elk this year.
The only glitch is that a buddy had to backtrack the following day and fetch home her binocular case and Hoochie Mama. Other than that everything worked out according to strategy.
I have added two-person tree stands this year too, for blacktail hunting, I buy a couple more ladder stands when they go on sale every year after the season. I am also looking at the larger ground blinds, I have been using the cheap and light chair blinds up until now.
I'm looking forward to the focus moving to the kids in the next few years. Before my buddies got there to help dress the elk she held one if the rear legs back so that I could get to work opening it up. Once they got there she was content to let us get it taken care of while she provided color commentary. She says the boys at school like her hunting stories, but the girls aren't really interested. The wife says that some of the boys are pretty upset that Bridget gets to go hunting, but they don't.
By the time she is twelve and can be on her own she should have quite a few arrows in her quiver of hunting knowledge. We are starting slow and limiting her to stand hunting for the first few years.
