A simulated hunting application for simulating the firing of a
projectile such as an arrow or bullet, and displaying its flight path and that of its
impact point on an intended target. In a preferred embodiment, the simulated hunting application includes a hunting instrument, such as an archery bow or gun, capable of launching a
projectile such as an arrow or bullet; a data capture unit such as a
video camera for capturing video data; a range finder for determining
distance to target; a display screen for displaying images; trajectory calculating and
video editing software programs; and a recording unit for storing the data captured by the data capture unit and data entered into the trajectory calculating
software by the user. The flight path of the
projectile, as well as its
impact point with respect to the intended target, and interplay with background images, may be viewed by the hunter. Safe dry-firing of the hunting instrument may be provided using a
momentum suppression rod which also forms part of the present invention. Interplay between the trajectory calculating
software and an appropriate clinometer takes into account uphill or downhill shooting.