Ok, so apparently in Skyrim I can't hit the broad side of a barn with a bow and arrow. My current toon is Level 4. Any tips?

Find an archery target at a gaurd barracks and pratice drawing, aiming and losing off the arrow. Then once your confortable with the style, go kill some mudcrabs/skeevers from range.

Really? I thought they made it really simple, since the crosshairs already compensate for arc, just point and shoot. No need to judge distance anymore unless your 100+ feet away.

Unless you changed the .ini file it will auto arc for you. Aim lower if the target is closer and farther away just aim dead center.

That is what got me most times, I would aim high to calculate for arrow drop; not realizing the game did this for me.

As with anything in life, practice. The archery in Skyrim took a while for me to get used to. The arrow flight seems to be different than how it was in Oblivion. Iron arrows don't seem to 'drop' near as much in Skyrim as the did in Oblivion. Even on my lvl 25 Imperial archer I still find myself missing shots that were relatively easy. Just stick with it.

I just became a 100 in Archery (less than a minute ago LOL) But if you want a shot to the chest aim around the thighs with the top point or the cross hair on the chest. And if you want a headshot same thing but aim around the chest.MAKE sure you pull the bow all the way back!

I would like to check my INI for any change that may have affected this... do you have specifics as to what i'd be looking for?

Just point... aim a little lower than where you want it unless you are shooting like 100+ feet... and make sure it's fully drawn... it gets tricky the farther away and with moving targets...

if you're talking about shooting in 3rd person perspective it does take some getting used to. 1st person shouldnt be a problem what-so-ever tho

I had a bug one time that when I had iron arrows equipped, they would just go "THOINK" a few feet ahead of me like I limp-wristedly threw them lol! Only with iron arrows though, was pretty damn funny.

lol that would infuriate me but i would laugh as well

I am crouching on the stairs in the Frostmere Crypt. I can see my target in my crosshairs. I aim for the torso, draw back the arrow, and fire the arrow. The arrow hits the ceiling and alerts the bandits. I have had this happen very often. It's very frustrating.

There are times when the archery is challenging and fun. Earlier, I was fighting a wood elf conjurer and, to stay alive, I had to move quickly. So, I was aiming my shot while on the run, and after a few failed attempts, I was able to take down the wood elf by anticipating where he would be and firing at that spot.

There does seem to be a random miss built in to the range attacks. Sometimes my fireballs/bolts or arrows fly off in a wild direct that's not even close to my crosshair. It could just be some kind of input lag where the game is remembering where I was aiming a second before, but it equates to pretty much the same thing. For the most part, though, it just takes some practice to get good at it.

The arrow will arc upward sharply. This greatly limits maximum firing distance. Also limiting maximum firing distance is the fact that the game doesn't actually recognize arrow collisions that are too far from your character, so even if an arrow "hits" it will pass right through a target at long range. If you're on the PC, access My Games/Skyrim and make the following changes to Skyrim.INI:

Under the [Combat] section, add these two lines:
f1PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7
f3PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7

Under the [Actor] section, add this line:
fVisibleNavmeshMoveDist=14000.0000


If either section doesn't exist, just add them at the end. These changes will reduce the sharp arc of your arrows to a very gentle one that is capable of traveling farther, plus will extend the distance at which the game registers arrow strikes. Using these changes, I can snipe things from partway up a mountain.

Exactly.

A small learning curve with archery... but now at level 36; my hits are spot on! Even better when sneaking! Critical head shots! Make sure you add the perks if your serious about using archery as a weapon.
My second weapon is a spell bound sword, and summoned when needed. This helps to avoid carrying too much and giving choice of how to take down your foe, especially helpful in sneak mode

Hope this helps

Get a follower and use him/her as a distraction. When the enemy is engaged then start pelting them with arrows. If you are fighting a ranged attacker who is strafing too much then get closer with your bow and close the distance. Eventually you will get the ability to slow time with your bow and you will be epic. MAKE SURE YOU INVEST AT LEAST HALF OF YOUR POINTS INTO STAMINA! The zoom feature and slow down time perk eat up stamina so I usually go half health and half stamina with archery characters.

Here is how I aim in Skyrim. Note: this is an old video and aside playing on expert I was using a weaker bow than what I currently have. But you will get the idea http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=j5eokE0B8D0

Only applicable if you changed it yourself though SushiSquid just explained everything.