A character has no penalties for firing at anything within the Base Range of his weapon. Further than its Base Range, but less than twice the Base Range, forces a -2 Penalty to hit on the character. Further than that, up to four times Base Range, carries a -5 Penalty. Anything beyond four times the Base Range is considered beyond maximum effective Range.
Archery weapons have another range value: Point Blank. Any target within 5 yards is considered to be within Point Blank Range, granting the attacker a +2 to hit. Thrown Weapons do not have a Point Blank Range.