Wisconsin may soon allow 10-year-olds to hunt.

The youth hunting bill passed the State Senate Tuesday, which is pleasing to proponents, but cause for concern among critics.

If the State Assembly votes like the Senate, 10-year-olds will legally be able to hunt, using a gun or bow. Currently hunters must be at least 12.

"We're losing a lot of hunters. Most of it....like me getting too old to hunt, but I think I'll hunt til the day I die," said Wally Meuret, of Hatley, who's taught hunting safety courses for the last 37 years.

Legislation will require youngsters to be an arm's length away from an adult mentor, and the pair would share one firearm.

Meuret says the younger the better, and puts importance on respecting weapons rather than fearing them.

"I know there are a lot of people that disagree with me. My wife is one, and I know a lot of, some of the safety hunting instructors don't agree with it, but that's my opinion," he said.

Some say 10-year-olds are just too young, and aren't mature enough to handle firearms.

"My inital reaction is developmentally 10-year-olds just do not have good judgment and decision-making skills," said Carrie Paisar, a mental health therapist at North Central Health Care Center in Wausau.

Paisar accepts 10-year-olds taking a hunting safety course, but doesn't believe they're mature enough to always make the right decision in the woods.

"Putting a gun in a 10-year-old's hand I think is something negative waiting to happen," she said.

But Meuret believes it's going to be up to the parents when it comes down to whether a child goes hunting or not.

"It's typically up to the parents. The parents are the ultimate decision as to if their child is gonna be able to hunt," he said.

But for now, it's up to the State Assembly.

If the bill is approved, it would become law September 1st.

The majority of states have no minimum hunting age at all, and over a dozen have a mentor program for young hunters, according to Jim Holperin (D-Conover), the state senator who introduced the bill.