Hunter here. 

Close combat was strictly piercing and backstabbing attacks in the first playthrough, mostly with a Sharp Uchigatana + 5, but yeah there was a lot, looooooot of weapon switching, because your most used weapon is going to be some type of bow (Sticky Compound Long Bow +5 with Heavy/White Arrows for me). Bows are also somewhat useful in close combat, if you use a fast lock-on and dodge strategy since you can take potshots at close range. 

Vulnerability to magic really is the drawback of the class, but you can somewhat counter-effect it with the Venerable Sage/Saint's Robes sets, which give you a good hefty boost to your Magic Resistance. That and the Dark Silver Shield as well. 

Your main focus, as a Hunter, is to hit 30 Dex (anything more is useless, since the boost to ranged damage isn't worth the extra points, 30 is required to use a Sticky Compound Long Bow). Also, since you're overall weak to damage, you could invest some points into Stamina and Endurance, so you can equip heavier sets (I ended up with the ability to equip Brushwood Armour without having it encumbering me). Be prepared to time your rolls effectively (that will require you to learn every enemy's pattern of attack) and combine that with the afformentioned strategy of lock-on. 

It's a pretty fun and challenging class to use, not your straightforward class such as Knight or Magician.