mounted archery is usually not needed. there is the feat the mount can take that has a similar effect that could be worth it though. What do you want weapon finesse for?
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Scout archetype rogue, take the feats Bludgeoner, Sap Adept, Sap Master. You now inflict double your sneak attack dice in damage with a sling, with a +1 bonus per dice, as long as you opt to do non-lethal damage and you move ten feet or more (so you treat foes as flat-footed).
Now add the mounted feats, and on a charge you can hit with a lance and do your sneak attack damage as well.
It's an evil build for one-shotting foes. You don't get many attacks but the ones you do get are really, really nasty.
If you're the GM, you can house rule that the player can reload the sling staff as a free action. As written and FAQ'd, the sling staff always takes a move action to reload, no matter what, so the player could never get more than one attack a round.(If you're not the GM, make sure you get that OK'd before you go too far down the sling staff route.)
I agree with most of Dafydd's recommendations, but I would adjust the stats a bit:
For scores you could do:
STR 15, DEX 16, CON 11, INT 10, WIS 8, CHA 15 (assuming Halfling race):
Dropping Str to 14 gives you 3 points to play with:
STR 14, DEX 16, CON 12, INT 10, WIS 8, CHA 16If you're more ranged focused and want to go the Weapon Finesse route, I'd take:
STR 13, DEX 17, CON 12, INT 10, WIS 8, CHA 16 (Or CHA 17)
Fourth level point into DEX/CHA, 8th level point into STR.
A 13 STR will let you take Power Attack, but since you can't two-hand a sling staff as a melee weapon (counts as a light club), you only lose 1 pt of damage with a 13 Str over a 14 Str. Most of your ranged damage will come from Deadly Aim anyway, so you'll want more Dex than Str to make up for the attack penalty.
If you plan on going Close Quarters Thrower so you always use your sling in melee anyway, you can also drop STR to 12 and bump Wis or Int.
General notes:
Get Precise Shot as soon as possible. -4 on nearly every shot is very, very painful.
Improved Precise Shot is a must have, also--ignoring cover is very nice--but it's up at level 12 or so. There's a trait for worshippers of Erastil that lets you ignore some cover with a bow--the GM might let you use that with a sling. There are also some tricks for avoiding cover in Ranged Tactics Toolbox.
The sling feats and special sling bullets in Halflings of Golarion are fun. There are also some fun bullets in Ranged Tactics Toolbox.
Weapon blanches are a ranged character's best friend.
Not exactly the ranged focussed build you were looking for - but, I am really enjoying my Wolf-Riding Halfling Hunter right now.
I tool the Primal Companion Hunter Archetype for some really beneficial modifications to my mount. The Halfling has a pair of Keen Kukri's.
Feats: Combat Expertise, Pack Flank, and TWF.
Bonus Teamwork Feats: Outflanked & Paired Opportunist.
The wolf has Eidolon evolution points giving it 2 Claws, a slam, the Pounce, Reach, and Pull features as well as classifying it as a combat mount(all in addition to its standard bite/trip).
Its feats are Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus (Bite) and Step Up.
And it gets all of my teamwork feats through Hunter Class features.
As long as I am riding it, we both get +4 to attacks as we are always considered flanking. between its huge array of natural attacks, and my Two Weapon fighting with 15-20 crit range, we usually trigger the outflank-AoO/Paired Opportunist chain - giving both of us an extra attack.
Between Step Up and grab - my mount does a good job of keeping our pray within my range.
Oh... and Dire Collar... Most of our enemies end up prone at our feet.
I just need to find a way to grant my Wolf Greater Trip, so we can Both hit the enemy whenever he trips one.
