[Stephen_Brady]

@Newton 24b

I agree with what you've said, on the surface of it.

That said, I've never seen a deer survive a full load of .00 from 10-20 yards, more than a few seconds. Shooting a deer from longer ranges may be unethical, especially if the hunter doesn't know his weapon. Indeed, not having a thorough understanding of how the shot pattern will spread, out to 40 yards, and taking that lack of knowledge into the field, is unethical.

Earlier, I said that I used a compound bow, rather than my shotgun. I may re-assess that position, since my last hunt (I hunt for a winter's worth of meat ... feeding my family is ethical). In that hunt, I put a four-blade broadhead into the deer from no more than 15 feet, and the arrow pierced two chambers of the animal's heart, and one of its lungs. It still took 30 minutes for it to die.

That the hard part about being ethical. There are so many variables ...