Instinctive Archery: Trajectory
by:
northwoodtraditionalarchery.com
Lobbing heavy arrows through dense foliage on uneven ground is an every day hunting drill that I practice to stay on point: using judo points for easy retrieval and hard wood shafts for durability...
I've had some insight to this practice, and while aligning the target vertically seems fairly straight forward with the arrow aligned under my dominant eye, trajectory is a little more of a feeling based decision, especially when a slight lobbing is necessary to clear through branches to the target.
So try this out:
While drawing the arrow, feel it's weight, it's center of mass.
Now at the same time feel the amount of tension in the string.
In doing this you are calculating the force, and the weight of your projectile... All that is left is to choose a trajectory and maintain a clean release.
Let it back down easy...
Finally, do it again, but this time loose the arrow!
This is much the same as when hefting a rock, or for you more modern folks, a ball, before you throw it.
You choose the force and trajectory based on it's weight while maintaining alignment with the target. Archery can feel very much the same...and when aiming for 40 yard targets with heavy arrows, I heavily utilize this practice.
It works for me, it may work for you too!