A question that seems to get asked rather frequently is which should I choose between Hunters or Slingers or why would I ever take Hunters over Slingers and I think attempting to answer that is worth it's own post. I have already made posts about each of those units that I will link to at the end and it's also worth noting that Slingers seem likely to get at least a mild adjustment in the upcoming army list update. That said I don't actually think the initial question is overly impacted by an update unless Slingers get hit really hard. The reason for this is pretty straight forwad - I don't actually think the units are that similar or fill the same role.
Slingers are a primary ranged superiority unit. With the notably longer range and a rule that functionally adds wounds rather than improving quality the expectation for Slingers is to sit back and volley as long as possible. The potential upper end of their output is quite substantial and they can be reasonable expected to do well with just a base 3 stand regiment and the predator needed to take them. The predator fits well here as it also has 18" range and will happily sit and shoot as long as possible. I find the predator to be very efficient in terms of output per cost mostly because as a long ranged option it tends to last on the table quite awhile. Slingers are really the only regiment that we have to fill this role. If all you want is some ranged oomph this should be your first and probably only stop.
Hunters are much more a flexible unit option. They can shoot reasonably well but even with having deadly shot and AP 1 the much shorter 14" range is likely to prevent you from being able to stand and shoot for large portions of the game. To offset this Hunters have an additional melee attack. A few extra attacks per regiment doesn't seem like a lot but against a d3/r3 target you are looking at a little more than an extra wound done per regiment. Add in the lower base cost and Hunters are actually half way efficient in melee and take buffs quite well. I've found Hunters to function very well as a front line. The volley works to force opponents forward but running at Hunters just to engage as you would many other ranged units is a tactic that Hunters are often able to punish.
Rather than comparing Hunters to Slingers I'd be more apt to look at them as a comparator with Blooded. You sacrifice some melee and a little bit of durability to instead pick up ranged attacks and improved mobility. Hunters being light gives them the advantage of being a potential front line that is on the table early and getting up the board to threatening positions. Both also have good officer options which can be quite valuable. Hunters not being able to score on their own is a potential issue - it is always worth looking at a list and asking if you have enough potential scoring options. I like to have 4 scoring options but have gotten by with 3 and the option to slide a character into some lights for a "false fourth" regiment.
As far as the sacrificed durability I've found it to not be overly important. W'adrhun in general does not have much by way of bulky front line pieces. We do have the additional wound on many stands (including all 3 mentioned in the article) that shifts the odds of survival a little but by and large I do not expect most of my regiments to survive contact unless it is something in a larger block.
To finish up here I've found Slingers to be a specialist and Hunters to be more a generalist choice. If what you need in your list is strong ranged output you should be looking at a way to stuff in some (or some more) Slingers. Ranged is what they do and they are very good at it. If you need a piece you can move around and can fill some different roles Hunters are your huckleberry. I personally find that using both is extremely effective. Regiments of each should give you strong early board presence and the ability to dictate tempo. You have options to overlap threat ranges to make it very difficult for your opponent to find safe spaces while being relevant on the table. Hunters ahead of Slingers with some angling to provide sight lines gives you lots of options to punish opponents moving forward or make something like holding a zone largely untenable.
As always thanks for reading
-K
Math on Slingers can be found HERE
Me gushing about how much I like Hunters is HERE
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