I think the 8 should be legal. Ethics, well fellows here in lies a problem because ethics is an opinion. And when we start voicing opinions well somebodys going to disagree and then they ain't gonna want to sit in the duck blind together. sad but true. Just like i'll state my opinion right here and most will say hes a idiot (oh i'll agree with that) I think its unethical to gripe about coyote and hawk killing all the game. So when Joe hunter leaves his house stops at the quick shop 4 a snack stops and buyes himself some shells at the hunting store ect. ect. ect. They are the true hunters they live buy the hunt and until i live by the hunt i will share the game with them and sometimes leave game 4 them so they have an easy meal. And yes sometimes when the turtle doves are lined up on the high line i will give them a barrel to see how many will fall, unethical i don't know i eat them. I don't do it often i guess sometimes i just fell a little onrey. ch but we are are all on the same team so we all overlook most things and stay friends right:whistle:

Ray, I don't know how a good eight bore would pattern because I don't shoot mine at paper. However, I see no reason why an eight with good chokes and good ammunition wouldn't pattern as well as a good ten. I have a ten that patterns the standard WW load of 1 3/4 ounces of steel so tight that a mallard at 60 yards would be too full of shot to be comfortably eaten. This is not a gun that is really suitable for steel, but I have shot steel in it for several years without damage. I will take it on as a project to throw some eight gauge patterns to try to answer your question. Unfortunately, I don't have a micrometer that will measure eight gauge bores and chokes.

Everybody's opinion about their own ethics is a valid opinion but I think we need to continue to "police our ranks" and point out the "slob hunter" who selfishly takes more than the bag limit allows, who kills for the sake of killing and wastes the game he kills, who refuses to close gates behind himself, who shoots too close to a dwelling or roadway, who stinks-up or destroys another hunter's blind or tree stand, who vandalizes, who litters....
They are out there and most of us have seen the evidence or even witnessed their boorish behavior. We 'ethical hunters' need to change this kind of conduct wherever we see it and we need to make it known that these people are not necessarily "hunters" but rather are criminals".

The kind of weapon a hunter uses, either by design, bore size, age, or quality... in my mind, so long as said weapon is legal, is not a matter of ethics.

I think Dean said it all. Now can we move on to another subject.....?