I had the same thought. I think the reason they didn't go with a bow is that a lot of rangers can buy a decent bow by the time they get to mid 30's (of course now the Deepsea Bow is no drop, so no more buying that). Also if you are lower level and haven't made much cash yet, the quest with the Centaurs right outside of Surefall gives a pretty decent low level ranger-only bow (huge range for low level): Darkwood Longbow
It still makes me sad that the other ranger quests yeild range slot items, since that means a ranger has to put away his bow to get the benefits. I always hated the fact that EQ let you put a non-"ranged weapon" in the range slot. It's the range slot. It's for ranged weapons. Not idols or chalises. But that's just my opinion