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First we need to throw this "ethical" mess out the window. We try and do our part by being "as ethical as we can" by not allowing the animal to suffer any longer than they need to, but in the real world, most deer are not shot in the heart/lungs or in the brain/(spinal) and can suffer for 30 minutes to an hour or so, or even longer, for worst shot placements.
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Different strokes for different folks,I guess. Long ago ,as a teen,I read and re-read Robert Ruark ,starting with "The Old Man and the Boy" Ruark had a way of working ethic into his chapters.
I won't throw "ethic out the window". Ethic is what you do when you figure no one is looking. For myself, that guy I see in the mirror is always looking and I have to live up to his standard if I want to respect myself.
If I really believe the vast majority of hunters shoot the game into doll rags and still the animal suffers for half an hour.....I refuse to place myself among them.(I HAVE witnessed poor kills)
One favor I've done for the late private rancher who owned the land I've done most of my hunting on is prairie dog control. There is no bench rest. I do not consider a good hit on a 250 yard prairie dog to be remarkable. Its more like routine. And its not a once a year thing. At any range I can splat a prairie dog, I can make a good heart/lung shot. Many PD shooters know what I'm talking about .
I know how to use my duplex to get a quick estimate of range. Its a takeoff of the mil-dot principle. (YMMV. My duplex measures 2 mils post to post, Fixed 6X. Its no laser,just a guideline) Brisket to whithers fitting post to center crosshair is close enough to 400 yds I start thinking "Get closer" Tip of the lower post is an aiming point for 430 yds.(on this ranch,as a guideline) I zero this rifle dead on at 300 yds.
If my family had no meat unless I killed something, I ,might stretch a bit.
But thats not my reality. I have several grocery stores where I can buy meat. And its not like hunting saves me money. A hunt costs money.
My sense of ethic is connected to my trigger finger. If I'm a little too wobbly,
or if its a little too far, or a bit too windy.... I'm OK with NOT pulling the trigger. I'm OK with going home without filling my tag.
I don't care what you or anyone else thinks about my unfilled tag. I care about what the guy in the mirror thinks.
I'm not OK with a sloppy kill on my part. I never want to be.
I will not claim I have never made one. One mess I made caused me to quit hunting a few years. I don't want to feel that way again.
I started out as a teen with a 7mm Rem Mag and I was using a max book load of H-4831 behind a Sierra 160 gr boat tail. It was a zippy load and that Sierra was a violent bullet. I like to eat what I shoot so I downsized to the 257 AI. In my experience, if that 115 gr Ballistic Tip launched at just over 3000 fps makes it inside the ribcage, I pour out heart/lung soup chunks in blood broth. I won't claim every animal was dropped in its tracks, but they were dead and just did not know it yet.