Weapon types have a GREAT deal to do with harvests, and are the over riding reasons for differences in season lengths and bag limits for the different weapons. TWRA biologists calculated years ago the time period it took to kill 10,000 deer. It took a significantly longer period to do it with archery than with centerfire guns. As the weapon efficiency increased, the number of days to kill the 10,000 (and multiples thereof) greatly decreased. That is why there can be an extremely long archery season without much effect on the overall harvest.
With the exception of certain WMAs with localized safety issues, the methods limits have VERY little to do with safety concerns. It all comes back to weapon efficiency and harvest objectives.