they are ethical "ONLY" if you are an excellent marksman and are 110% confident you can put that bullet directly through its brain. I will only head shoot a doe that is 50 yards or closer. I dont head shoot bucks because I dont want to take the chance of destroying the skull which would make it difficult to mount. I will neck shoot a buck though but again it has to 50 yards or closer. If you want to anchor a deer in its tracks use a controlled expansion bullet like a trophy bonded bear claw or nosler partition with a .308 win or better and break its shoulder, this works great if you dont care for the shoulder meat otherwise a double lung shot is probably the most ethical shot since deer with no lungs is a dead deer running and usually expire within a minute or two and generally dont run any further then maybe 50 or so yards as long as you stay put for atleast 15 minutes and the let the deer die. heart shots are ideal but the desired angle for a clean heart shot is not as easy to get as a double lung shot is. I will not recommend a head or neck shot to anyone, its something you have to decide on your own. According to the antis a head or neck shot isn't ethical and they use this subject as ammo against us hunters, honestly those treehuggers dont know Sh!t but claim to know everything but thats typical for any liberal so go figure.