Who says a bow is "lesser" than a muzzleloader? I don't like to shoot past 75 yards with my muzzleloader. I hear of many bow hunters who shoot that far with archery equipment. So if they were to allow the use of archery equipment during muzzleloader season, then muzzleloaders should be legal during archery season.
The other thing to think about is the ways in which archery equimpent is "better." It is quiet and quicker to reload, therefore a follow up shot is more likely with a bow than a muzzleloader. Also, a bow is much more reliable when hunting in the rain. With a muzzleloader you never know when it's going to actually fire, if you've been in the rain all day.
I say if you want to hunt during muzzleloader season, hunt with a muzzleloader. Not sure why anybody would want to though- the archery season are much longer and a lot more units are open.