What I have discovered is if you enjoy playing what you do, even with a little disadvantage you can out perform others. Perhaps my number will speak for itself. I am playing at level 84 and you may want to check some screen shots below. I have a ton of these, to be fair, I took some in random order.
The first key to become a BM hunter is to play orc. A lot of people will say troll and a 5% pet damage is equal to 1% of total damage, etc. I beg to differ. My preferred pet is spirit beast. Health on self heal helps when you are about to die with the agility bonus and the fast damage attacks.
Also as orc, the short attack power boost and 15% daze off from target has helped me survive on numerous occasion. The screen shots above speak for itself, the performanes show I am doing some of the highest damages. At the same time I am doing more kills than death. Perhaps, playing BM hunter is not a bad idea after all ! It's a perfectly playable class.
