I like Carl. And the fact the he's 'acting out of character' to me says that he is changing because the world around him has changed. He's no longer the little boy of 6 months ago . . . he's seen friends-turn-walker's heads explode from being shot, he's see lots and lots of death along the way, he thought his own father was dead for a time, he almost died, etc. What 10 year old kid wouldn't go wondering in the woods, walkers or not? After shooting all the walkers in the barn (and not encountering any walkers on the farm as of yet), can't you see how Carl would assume he was safe? And he took Daryl's gun so of course he thought he'd be ok. Plus, a 10 (or however old old he is) year old kid doesn't need to be watched 24/7. What is happening is that Carl is growing up fast, a lot faster than if the world hadn't gone to hell, and he's just learned a lesson the hard way. He should have listened to Rick on this one . . think before you act. If he had, Daryl would still be alive.
Dale was the voice of logic and reason and 'humanity' but . . . others have that as well. He wasn't the only one he was just the most annoying about it. And in a world of walkers and survival of the fittest, sometimes surviving has to trump logic and reason. They should have shot that kid when they had the chance.