Shoot and scoot!
I don't think ranged characters get enough support, not usually in the games I've been in at least. Of course, in the most recent adventure I ran I don't think the gunslinger really knew what he was doing when he built his character, so his damage output wasn't super. Especially as compared to the meat and potatoes two-handed fighter.

I primarily play as ranged characters. I always find it more fun.

At least until you get bumrushed by minions that you can't attack with your ranged attack without provoking AOO and can't even hit with a 1d4 dagger because your STR is abysmal.

I poked around until I made a gunslinger build I was satisfied with. Fighting point blank is easy once you figure that, at that range, you're more or less making touch attacks.

That's why the 1d4-1 damage my alchemist wields is coated with either Pit Fiend venom (I got a lucky deal in a dam), or even more potent poison recipes brewed by himself.

Technically, I only need one hit to kill enemies in melee. Thing is, they got plenty of time to hit back before that one hit finishes them.

Another example of system shock for me, I guess. Since I only played a little D&D 3e but more of other systems (mostly GURPS), I'm used to rolling to hit against Dexterity (or the equivalent) since it's hand/eye coordination.

Strength handles lifting and damage, though if you're too weak for your weapon it adds a penalty. Plus a decent ST score is actually important to a ranged attacker unless you're weapon is like part of a vehicle. Low tech it is obvious; they turned muscle power into range and damage. Even something mechanical like a crossbow is a matter of storing muscle power, so unless you want someone else to cock it, your Strength score shouldn't be too low; maybe average or better.

Firearms for a ranged specialist still require at least an average or better Strength. You just don't get the same advantage for crazy high Strength you do for low tech weapons unless the setting allows for something normally fired while mounted or similarly braced. A good strong soldier though will have the ST to lug his weapon and the rest of his gear, plus be able to handle recoil from it.

All I can say to this: Halfling Paladin, Ranged Weapon Spec, with a celestial Warhound as a riding mount.
Snizz could even run and gun in dungeons. And there's something extremely satisfying about using smite evil while riding something down with a lance.

Well, it's surprising how much having a bow and arrow in a modern day zombie apocalypse has really made the group love my character.
They mostly love the fact that I'm able to take out anything my dangerous creatures as soon as we see it - without alarming any other dangerous things with the sound.
The best thing is, that if we do alarm them (for example, if I don't 1 hit kill it and the creature starts screaming) that they have some pistols and 1 snipergun to still take it out soon enough to run away - or to remove the other things closing in.
And when bad things do come to close... well, they have made mostly close combat characters, and I have stealth and enough speed to run away, so I'll play backup from that roof over there, okay?

I made a bow and arrow character too, though it was for Shadowrun. The arrowheads could be swapped out for different payloads, such as incendiary, flash-bang, stun shock, and even freeze foam. Basically, I made the Green Arrow, minus the wealth, so... the Red Arrow. :p

I have my bad -2 damage cosplay arrows with which I started AND I have my improvised self made normal damage arrows (didn't get enough time to make enough to fill the quiver) .
Does that count as having different kind of arrows to chose from? Probably not XD

...

I forgot they helped saving a teammates life when I got mind-controlled. I had just enough spirit left to make sure I put the lower damage arrows on the bow.
Which means I technically do have arrows to chose from, and they even are usefull!
Not as good as Green Arrow though. That part is far, far away. I only just learned double shot... And our party is no where near the state of being able to get good technical stuff XD

You made Hawkeye from Marvel's Avengers.

Running out of the range (at which you think) you can be hit by melee and then shooting with a ranged weapon is the whole point of a ranged weapon. Ask anyone who played Resident Evil 4 and 5.

I remember how useless my Ratfolk Musket Master was for the first few levels. The dungeons were always way too cramped for my shots, and I had to be in the back because of my horrible hit point rolls. So I took Ricochet Shot. Saved my hide and the teams. As long as I had grit still, I only needed line of effect to a target to hit, avoiding all cover penalties. Drove the DM up the wall trying to avoid it.

Ah, so many nice things you can do with a ranged character. In a PBP Pathfinder game that I unfortunately had to drop out of, I had a plain old human fighter specced for using a light crossbow.

At first level I had Weapon Focus (Light Crossbow), Empty Quiver Style (from Weapon Master's Handbook; basically it lets you brain enemies with the butt of your crossbow/firearm or the wooden part of a bow as long as you're in the stance, and instead of being improvised it's considered a heavy mace, though hand crossbows and one-handed firearms are treated as light maces for this purpose, and you don't threaten the area around you until the second feat in the chain, oh it also removes the elf prerequisite on the Stabbing Shot feat), and Point Blank Shot. Eventually he'd have picked up such fun things as applying his Bravery bonus to all Will saves, using his fighter level as his Warpriest level for Sacred Weapon damage for his light crossbow, getting to use his ranged attack and damage modifiers instead of his melee ones when braining an enemy who thought that getting into melee with the sniper would be a good idea, Trip enemies at range really well, shoot someone so that casting spells is harder and the victim takes penalties on ability checks, attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks, use his BAB as his ranks in Perception and Stealth, use the Dirty Trick combat maneuver at range to pin an enemy by their clothing, do mean things like cause an enemy to miss an ally by shooting them or shooting them as they're making a saving throw to give them a penalty, and when hitting a foe in melee with my special heavy mace not drawing opportunity attacks from that foe for shooting other targets, oh and the standard Rapid Reload and Rapid Shot combo.