I am a realist, in the real world and in game. For me, if something is limited in real life, but possible, it should work in game too.
Short list without my gabbing, for those with short attention spans:
Hand thrown stones, bullets (cheep, not all that damaging or accurate)
Sling shot and bullets/stones (still quite cheep, slightly damaging and can be QUITE accurate)
Bow and arrow (still light weight and rather cheep, but HIGH end arrows with HIGH damage could get into the OUCH range price wise) Very accurate often, VERY light weight, slightly more damage than sling shot, but still less than compound bow.
Compound or cammed bow (a bit heavier, more material required, arrows same as reg bow most of the time but sometimes a tad longer), VERY accurate, much more range possible, not as light as reg bow, but still lighter than most rifles, and damage can be MIND boggling concidering the techonology level.
Pistols of all kinds (from NOT heavy at all to OH MY GOD heavy, ammo from simple low damage to complex and insane damage) this would be in game the standard Mainland low to mid level solo weapon of choice in my mind. Light weight, minimual mat requirements, light weight ammo with HUGE possiblity of customization of effects at the stage of crafting ammo. At low Q numbers...this would be lower damage, but at higher Q levels the damage should almost equal the same level UN amped spell.
Rifles of all kinds (from not really that heavy to UGH where is that cart?! and damage from *long low wistle* not bad mate, to OH MY GOD!) Mat requirements should be a tad more than the pistol, but the ammo and weapon should produce at AVERAGE quality and mats about the same as all other comparable NON ranged weapons currently in game. (the bulk and mat requirements SHOULD go up with the HIGH end damage, if it produces INSANE damage...over the magic melee of the same level, it should be MORE heavy/bulky and should use stamina more and cost more to use IE be a sholder Siege weapon or mounted on a battlement where carrying ammo or weapon would NOT matter and stamina useage would drop sharply). There might EVEN be a seperate form for the "seige rifle/auto rifle" and their ammo.
Siege or mounted Auto artillary/tanks. This SHOULD be a high end option that those guilds/groups/alliances that claim and build up an outpost high enough should be able to quest/mission for. These should require ammounts of materials that would make MOST foragers CRY, their damage should be in the NO WAY range (twice to three times the standard DPS of the same level melee/magic) and their range vary from not too far to WAAAAAAAYYYYY out there, and the area of damage be from two mobs/players to 10 meter circle. This is stuff/skills that ONLY guilds/invasion defenses would want or need, and the requirements of these items should SHOW it.
In real life, in my slightly limited exposure to anything more than small hand guns (.38 and a darenger with special .38 hollow points, my mother had for protection. She took me to a firing range twice and taught me how to aim and fire both. I shot both about ten rounds TOTAL and in girl scout camp I learned to fire a .22 rifle for the "marksman" patch). So...I admit my limited real life knoweldge of ANYTHING heavy, other than what you see on the history channel or other late night cable tv fare.
BUT in my knoweldge the categories of projectile weapons, modern and modernized ancient type is(there are other explosives that I didn't mention since they don't really fit into the ranged idea, like bombs or land mines):
Hand thrown weapons from your basic stone or metal bullet thrown with hand all the way up to the Military hand granade or Moliv cocktail (flaming projectile sorry 'bout the spelling).
Wooden Bow and target arrows up to sharp pointed or barbed "hunting" arrow.
Compound bow and various arrows
sling shot and metal "bullet" (don't under estimate this one, even for personal protection, hitting someone in the butt or leg with a lead pellet WOULD normally encourage them to GET OFF MY PROPERTY and LEAVE ME ALONE, and more than likely NOT kill them). These are anything from a bit of fabric and the old swing it over your head David and the giant style to high tech titanium framed with PVC plastic tubing and interchangable pads and a rather accurate site system depending upon your projectile (and budget
I saw this one while shopping for hunting clothing with my mother. )
Pistols of various bullet sizes and varying accuracies. Varying in weight from VERY slight(mom's daranger was light enough to slide into a boot or carry in purse, weight was less than a can of soda) to enough that you would not really want to carry it around in your purse ALL the time (a Magnum gun and enough ammo in a purse would give the average woman a back ache). These should be the same style as in game LOW level pistols, LOW cost, low to high accuracy and low to HIGH damage depending upon your Q number and mats used. Think about the damage a .22 pistol can do compared to the damage a magnum with Hollow point explosive tipped ammo could do (I saw a vidoe of that ammo taking down an oak door and a rather large bit of the wall near it. No one was hurt, but had anyone been there...it wouldn't have been pretty scene).
Hunting rifles for every form of animal life from birds to bull elephants (size wise, NO WAY would I encourage the hunting of a rare species of any kind or size). And in sizes from Cute little BB rifle for the kids to learn proper hunting ettiquet in reasonable safety, with the proper adult supervision etc, to heavy enough you would want to carry it in a Jeep, and would likely rest the barrel on a surface or tripod during firing. (I have seen an elephant gun in a gun show, I would NOT want to carry this puppy.)
Military weapons, hand guns and Automatic rifles/guns of all kinds. These are normally made with accuracy, durablity, ease of care, ease of part replacement, reliablity in mind, sometimes weight and price are taken into account, but NOT always. Military grade is HEAVY, and very VERY leathal...that is the WHOLE point of it. It is also INSANELY expensive to buy and supply ammo for them. ( in game, higher damage seige weapons with higher costs to use? maybe)
There are other weapons that fit in the Military Grade weapons category that I think COULD go in game as well, providing you follow the Karavan fame and do ALOT of missions etc. But I think that they should be SO heavy, and cost SO many mats to use them etc that they are CLEARLY for invasions, outpost defense posts, and war time between guilds or other groups/units of opposite fames/factions etc. These SHOULD have insane mat requirements, limited firing speeds, HUGE damage, possible AOE, spray or scattering effects (built into the ammo I would say) and take a cart or car to move around, and have an ammo bag or box that could be put down to not count against the player using the item, but the range of that player FROM the box should also be limited or they could not access the ammo and would run out quickly.
The real life equivelents to those weapons are...Artillary, tanks, mounted machine guns and military automatic weapons (not as limited as others, not as many mats required, BUT if used UNmounted it should have a HUGE stamina cost, Maybe a special HIGH level stanza to allow a player MORE range from ammo box, and less stamina use during firing of military level weapons and rifles while unmounted.) And of course Tank and most artillary should not even be THOUGHT of as unmounted usable due to recoil.
Just my thoughts on ranged. Whatever happens happens, if enough changes are made...I MIGHT take it up, if not...I won't.
