Sylvan, I'd like to attempt and answer that question for you.
Archery Hunters are found to be some of the most ethical hunters in the hunting woods. We take great pride in the sport we all love. We spend uncountable hrs tinkering with our equipment, practicing yr around to ensure we grip anchor and release perfectly every shot. We know a lack in practice often results in poor shooting. We attend archery shoots, 3d's. This on top of the time in the woods scouting, our setups to get that deer within close range for a undetectable draw & shot. More times than not it doesn't happen for us, but we love it all the same. Its the excitement of being out there, and witnessing things other forms of hunting don't get. Thats one reason archery season is so long. The odds of being successful with archery equipment in a shorter season would be much less. Can you honestly say other type of hunters put in more time to their sport than archery hunters? We are a very proud group!
Now you bring in a different weapon, one that takes less time to learn to shoot well. Heck I watched a group of city slickers on Ted's Dead or Alive show shoot the crossbow at a target, and hit bullseyes. It was the first time any had ever shot a weapon of any kind! Its also obvious that the crossbow has the advantage of not needing to be drawn to shoot at oncoming game. Anyway you look at it the crossbow IS NOT archery equipment that we presently use in Archery season. It has distinctive advantages over present archery equipment. No other NY Big Game season has different weapons that carry such a significant difference or advantage. Should our present archery season be any different. Why should we taint it with a superior weapon? Granted if you have two hunters in treestands with a bow & X-bow its not going to effect them. But I can guarentee you the X-bow has better odds with his equipment of getting a shot off over a compound! If you look at the harvest reports, and user statistics of states that allow both weapons in a season. You'll see that the X-bow hunters harvest more deer, and is used by more hunters. The Ohio reportsare well known by archery organizations. Is it fair to us archery hunters to allow that sort of weapon into the same woods at the same time? A weapon that takes less practice to use, and even less effort to harvest game with, becasue of its advantages. Is it fair to lower the very ethics we've lived by, and loved for so many yrs?