What is the reason for banning anything in hunting? Because the more we can exclude others from participation, the more we can tailor hunting around our own interests, preserving our own opportunities at the expense of others.
Yes, a crossbow is easier to use than a compound bow. Yes, a compound bow is easier to use than a traditional bow. That’s why compound guys want compounds excluded. Same reason trad guys want their own season.
The simple fact is that as the population of AZ grows, we will have to find ways to further limit the % of harvest. That can be done in a lot of different ways. Nearly all people will look at others before being willing to change themselves. Crossbow's and compound bows are an easy thing to look at and point to for exclusion. But there are other ways to limit efficacy.
What would happen to success rates if we didn’t allow sittIng water? On drought years, archery success rates are way higher than when it’s abundant.
I don’t have strong feelings about any of the weapon types. But I do think that limiting more and more weapon types or groups of hunters is just death my 1,000 cuts. We can keep trimming back what is allowed, but the growing population will just keep pushing the demand. So we need to work together to develop solutions that simultaneously increase wildlife populations and control efficacy.