Muzzle loaders are not covered under firearms law nor are bows or crossbows.
Check this out...I had to read it twice to make sure it wasn't satire --go to the link for the full “story.”
New York Governor To Examine Black Powder Loophole: Last week, The Investigators went undercover to expose a gaping loophole in New York state’s gun laws. Now Governor Eliot Spitzer is promising to examine the problem more closely The black powder rifle’s exemption from gun laws is one of the last remaining major gun loopholes in the state of New York. But the days of buying this deadly weapon no questions asked may be numbered
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=5722620
But you still have to have a hunting license. Reneders the whole subject, moot.