User blog comment:Firefunbro/Velvet's Team Speculation/@comment-11188061-20140410165207/@comment-3286116-20140410194834

Velvet's weapon was never shown to be a bow, we have seen where it is stored though. [Link: http://rwby.wikia.com/wiki/Velvet%27s_Weapon ] Her being a military soldier would not limit her weapon choice, in fact a ranged weapon would make more sense for her if she was from military lineage.