A forest is the absolute worst place for ranged weapons. They are great for hunting and assassination - I.E, one shot one kill, but as a weapon of war, they fail miserably. Too much stuff in the way.
Yes, forest suck for long term ranged combat. So the traditional ranger of the forest would be a sniper and not the machine gunner D&D makes him to be.
A forest ranger wouldn't be firing a shot every turn like a archer fighter. They'd line one one shot for a quick kill or high damage and then draw their sword.