Stacy,

Kids (and adults) mature at different rates.  Some kids are mature enough to enjoy hunting by six years old or so.  Others need to wait a bit longer.  Research clearly shows that kids that start out fishing and/or hunting small game tend to enjoy and remain hunters throughout life more than kids that are introduced to the outdoors by deer hunting.  

Deer hunting can be very boring to kids.  Deer hunting often requires sitting still for hours and being quiet.  That’s not a fun activity to most children. I took my daughters fishing for bluegill years before we started hunting. We started shooting with an inexpensive BB guns.  There was no recoil and very little noise. We worked up to a .22 with subsonic loads (quiet and no recoil). We then went squirrell hunting.  

Deer are large, beautiful critters. Most young children aren’t mature enough to understand the cycles of life, providing quality meat for our families, etc.  Candidly, I believe many dad’s make a mistake of starting their kids’ hunting career by taking them deer hunting before pursuing other activities.

No one likes extremely loud noises or substantial recoil.  That simply sends a strong signal that watching TV is funner than hunting.  Why not grab some inexpensive fishing gear and some worms or crickets and the all important candy bars – and take your daughter fishing.  I suspect twenty years from now you’ll be glad you started with simpler outdoor activities than deer hunting.

Enjoy creation,

grant