Archers: viable archetype?

[Saeviomagy]

Change it up and play the same character with a sling instead of a bow. I think (book not on hand) that one of the feats might mention a bow specifically, but otherwise a ranged weapon is a ranged weapon. Load up the sling pocket with a fistfull of stones instead of multiple arrows on the bow string!

The feat specifically references "arrows", not bolts or slingstones.

Slings in 3.5 suck hard. They're worse than a crossbow in every single respect. Frankly I don't see why they should require a move action to reload when a bow gets off with a less-than-free action...

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Yeah, slings suck. They're worse than crossbows in everything except...
price
damage (if you've a decent strength)
ease of finding ammo
halfling attack bonus.

I'm not saying slings are good. Pretty much, in D&D if you're going to be an archer you should be using a mighty composite longbow. But for some characters, slings are noticably better than crossbows.
1d4+2 (14 strength) is as good as a light crossbow's 1d8.
Anything higher than a 14 strength and the sling is going to be better than the crossbow. Use Magic Stones (from the cleric spell) and you're a lot better.

The feat specifically references "arrows", not bolts or slingstones.

Slings in 3.5 suck hard. They're worse than a crossbow in every single respect. Frankly I don't see why they should require a move action to reload when a bow gets off with a less-than-free action...