Once you get rapid shot, it gets easier. I'd rather use half-elf/drow because you can get dex up to 24. Plus you don't have issues with too weak a strength stat. And you aren't too stupid either.

Hunters are very dependent on dex for hits, dodging. And they dodge like crazy in the wilderness. I was like tanking Ugruks in mid-twenties.

Archery (from help files):
This specialized ranger has adapted the skill of archery to be suitable for
a life of adventure. Perpetually trying to keep distance in confrontation
requires a hunter's endurance and cunning, and typically with the time
required to load and aim, <b>only a single shot can be fired in a round of
combat</b>. Ranged attacks do, however, afford opportunities unique in the art
of war, but only a true hunter possesses an arsenal of skills capable of
making the bow viable enough to withstand the chaos of a direct fray.
<b>Arrows fired from hunter's bows are impossible to be parried.</b>
The training of a hunter allows them to use their bow even in the water.

The archery skill allows the hunter to wield their bow, <b>which requires
two hands</b>.