I'm not sure that you can figure out your effective range without shots on real animals. What you're capable of with an animal in front of you is not the same as what you can do to a foam target. Beginners have to start somewhere.

It's a process of setting a limit, shooting at animals and then adjusting that limit accordingly. The weapon is really irrelevant in this. A person can just as easily make a bad choice or even worse, never limit himself with a 70 lb bow as he can with a 60 lb bow. A person who makes good choices is ethical with a 40 lb recurve and a person who makes bad choices or no choices will be unethical with whatever they use. Just look at how many people make unethical choices with high powered rifles.