I feel the same, and agree completely with you. We've both -participated on this site for over 10 years and experienced this dynamic, and perhaps it will continue for another 10 years. But....perhaps we can re-define the conversation pertaining to ethics and use it to to our advantage. When said and done, the term "ethics" is basically defined as customs and beliefs of a "particular" group of people. We actually have our own definition of ethics, but we haven't defined and communicated it. Ethics as we receive the term from skeptics is "always" discussed in the context of "how far game is shot". Why don't we re-define it to our custom and belief. These custom and beliefs are adhering to good practices when shooting game at long range". These practices could include shooting skills, proper rifle and equipment, loads capable of effectively dispatching game, and game recovery skills. If one adopts these practices, they represent our customs and beliefs, and he(or she) is an Ethical long range hunter. Range is simply a variable We ARE ethical and this is our code of ethics. Bow hunting went through a similar transformation when I first started, more the 50 years ago. If a person starts talking about ethics in the context of distance, instead of saying "we don't discuss ethics on this site", the response is, let us explain the meaning of ethics on this site. With this answer we have denounced their perception of ethics, and rationally explained ours. When we simply state"we don't discuss ethics" the individual either leaves or argues being unconvinced. If we explain our ethics, he leaves or stays, maybe realizing he drives slow because he doesn't have the right car and the skills to drive it.....and may even decide he wants to learn. If you can't change someone's mind, change their perception.
I'm not sure if all this all makes sense or not, but thought I would throw it out there. I also realize it may violate the basic rule that "we don't discuss" ethics and will fully understand if this post gets canned.
