Well, I'm planning on buying WoW & the BC expansion when it comes out, both together.

I've looked over many classes, and hunter seems to suit my style.

I'm either going to be a Dwarf or a Troll, so i'm either playing with (allience) or against (horde) my friends.

Now, i was just wondering which ranged weapon is better overall? Gun or Bow?

Heres what i would like you to fill out;

Ranged Weapon Choice:
Early Ranged Choice(1-20):
Middle Ranged Choice(21-40):
Late Ranged Choice(40-60):
Raid/PvP Ranged Choice:
Explainations:

(and for the hell of it) Favorite Pet, and why:

B.U.M.P.

Gun, bow, or crossbow can all deal good damage. I like to go for the most dps on my ranged weapon. Personally I use a crossbow because I like the sound of it better. After all, I spend endless hours shooting it, carry thousands of arrows with me. I might as well have what I am happy with, and as a reward from Alterac Valley battleground, it does good dps too. Mine is
-----------------
Bloodseeker
Binds when picked up
Range Crossbow
85 - 128 Damage Speed 3.30
(32.3 damage per second)
+7 Agility
+8 Strength
-----------------
Use this site and others to look up weapons in your level, and where they drop. If you are just starting the game, get a gathering profession as soon as possible and learn to use the auction house to sell your unneeded green items. Then you will have enough money to buy that new weapon from the vendor as you start out. It's hard to pick a best for like 1-20 for instance, since you may change your weapon 4 times or more within that range. Look them up on this and other sites and go after some that look good to you.

Thanks for the reply Dadanox, not exactly what i was hoping for or asking, but still go info.

Really, my question was more of a ; "I'm a newb, should i pick bow, or gun? allience or horde?" lol. Anywas gun just appeals to me with its, 'ooooh i got a boomstick!' aspect. I plan on playing with my friends, so its DragonMaw if i'm horde, or Lightning's Blade if im Allience, either way i win, will prolly end up trying both. Anyways again thanks for your input.

depends do you want easy mode or hard mode? Are you going to play PvP or PvE?

I use
Ashjre'thul, Crossbow of Smiting
Binds when picked up
Crossbow
124 - 186 Damage Speed 3.40
(45.6 damage per second)
+7 Stamina
Durability 90 / 90
Requires Level 60
Equip: +36 ranged Attack Power.
as an upgrade from
Eaglehorn Long Bow
Binds when equipped
Ranged Bow
40 - 76 Damage Speed 1.80
(32.2 damage per second)
+10 Agility
+4 Stamina
Durability 75 / 75, which was an upgrade from
Bow of Searing Arrows
Binds when equipped
Ranged Bow
47 - 88 Damage Speed 2.70
(25.0 damage per second)
Durability 90 / 90
Requires Level 37
Equip: Chance to strike your ranged target with a Searing Arrow for 18 to 26 Fire damage.
before that i used
Sturdy Recurve
Binds when equipped
Ranged Bow
20 - 37 Damage Speed 2.20
(13.0 damage per second)
Durability 65 / 65
Requires Level 27, before that i dont remember... probablly something from deadmines or something...

^ you went from Eaglehorn Long Bow to Ashjre'thul? Well done, sir...

To try and answer your question, if you play a Dwarf, you're going to end up with a gun. I'm going to have to look into your end-game options, up to that point isn't really an issue. There's plenty of ranged weapons you can choose from (bow, gun, or xbow) up to that point.

The hunter's epic weapon quest from Molten Core gives you a bow (and a very good one, at that). Based off that information alone, I would roll horde for the troll +skill to bows racial. Some replacements for Rhok'delar are Ashjre'thul, Huhuran's Stinger, Larvae of the Great Worm, and Nerubian Slavemaker. Note that only one of them is a gun.

Raid/PVP ranged choice... In pvp, I would use my faster bow, which happens to be Rhok'delar. In pve content i use Ashjre'thul, because of the higher dps. That's really nit-picky, because both are excellent weapons. After TBC, there will be more of a difference due to ranged weapons scaling (hunters rejoice!) but even then, they're both solid, solid weapons.

Pet? I hear Broken Tooth is a great pet, 1.0 attack speed means he eats casters. I personally had King Bangalash from STV, I replaced him with Shy-Rotam from Winterspring (he's summonable on a quest chain). I also have a 60 boar from EPL and a 60 bat from ZG. The boar has a charge similar to a warrior's, except it only immobilizes. That's VERY nice for pvp. The bat has a 1.0 attack speed and a very low damage AOE effect that helps when I'm trying to kill (or escape from) a lot of mobs.

Hope this helps. =)

Ok, I play a Night Elf hunter so I started with a bow. I always said I would train in guns if the need/reason ever arose. Perhaps it is just because of where I was questing (NE area for the first 15 or so levels) or perhaps it is my server, but the reward/drop rate on bows seems to be much higher than on guns and crossbows (I can't remember ever seeing a crossbow drop, and have never, again that I can remember, had that as a choice of reward). guns occasionally drop, but I always seem to have a better bow.

Of course if you choose a Dwarf, you will start with a gun (I played one for a while, but dropped her and later made my NE and my wife is currently playing a Dwarf hunter as one of her alts). I would guess that in the Dwarven area, guns are more prevelant. When I choose my AV reward, I went with the polearm and didn't even notice the crossbow, but at level 53 I would not try to change primary weapon anyway.

As has been said before, it is all about personal preference. The same is true for pets. If you ask 100 different Hunter's, you will get 100 different answers as to the "best" pet. I have a panther from STV, and Turtle and a wolf from the Hinters. I normally use my panther and probably always will for the DPS, but I try to keep a "tank" pet (my turtle ATM). The wolf is my combo pet, better armour than the cat, and more DPS then the turtle. I just went crazy andbought all my stable slots so I keep them full. I really very rarely use my wolf any more. Not sure if any of this makes your decision easier, but hopefully it is at least useful information.

GO with the bow it looks tight and sound good. It still does everything you want. It has many type for many lvls. GO WITH BOWS

Hi all, i havn't picked up much in the way of great ranged weapons but i do have mining and engineering as my skills so was able to build a SILVER PLATED SHOTGUN which i can really reccomend.
Also, there is something to be said for whacking enemy's with something you have made your self.
As for the pet i'd say go with a tank creature, i'm using a spider which has bailed me out of so many hairy situations it's unbelievable.
The trouble is that the hunters power is in his ranged attacks, especially at the lower levels so you really need something that's gonna hold em off while you nail em.
Also, havn't seen any crossbows anywhere and would really like to try one if anyone knows where i can get a decent one from.

This is what I use at level 70 http://www.wowhead.com/?item=31303

and for 80?