Having been a dedicated bowhunter since I was a teenager, I've heard the same arguement of divisiveness between the compound shooters and the traditionalist longbow/recurve shooters. It has even extended to having both the traditionalists and compund shooters ganging up on the crossbow shooters. The truth is, the effective in-the-field range of both hand held and crossbows are similar.
What I've noticed about the bickering between the disciplines, is that the anti-hunter/animal rights PETA trash has been out to ban all hunting.
The different disciplines have been quick to point out the challenges of their particular sport in order placate the anti's at the expense of one particular discipline over another, compromising away their rights in hopes that the antis leave them alone.
Of course the proper response would be for hunters of all disciplines to band together to fight the antis rather than turning on each other and diminishing their (our) numbers even more.
Kinda sounds like the plaid-wearing Elmers who turn on their EBR shooting counterparts diminishing all of our rights dosen't it?
The muzzleloading debate is no different. It's a non-issue. Look at who the real enemy is and then tell me if the equipment one chooses to hunt with really makes a difference in the end.