Hunters in World of Warcraft can use any armor except plate mail. Additionally they can use any weapon except maces, although the use of throwing weapons would have no point, as those can not be used with the Hunter's normal attacks and skills.

Weapon choice it a matter of taste for the most part, while certain racial bonuses might have an effect on the decision. Thus you can often see Dwarfs with guns and Trolls with bows.

Melee weapons are rarely used by Hunters, so they are viewed as so called "Stat sticks". This means that most Hunters are only interested in the stat bonuses provided by these weapons in PvE. In PvP, however, it is possible for the Hunter to actually use his melee weapon once in a while, which leads to Hunters preferring two-handed weapons, as those deal more damage. Stat-wise Hunters aim for agility, attack power, critical strike, hit and armor penetration rating and intelligence. While intelligence was often omitted in the past and Hunters opted for Rogue Leather items, the new talent "Careful Aim" makes it much more valuable and thus makes the usual Hunter armor, mail armor, the first choice. While haste and armor penetration rating do not carry over to the Hunter's pet, those stats are still rather important for a Hunter. Haste rating is capped though, as it won't have any effect after a certain point.