Is there a way to craft arrows? playing on xbox. Was hoping to be able to get my smithing up high enough to make arrows so I didn't have to rely on buying a ton or just finding them. Just curious if there's something I need to do to be able to do this. I noticed it's not an option when using a forge.

no it isn't. i also thought it was.

Unlimited free arrows: give a follower 10 arrows of choice. Can be less but that number is an example. They are infinate now in your followers inventory. When looting dead bodies you should find enough after awhile. There is also a target glitch you can use that others here will explain, ive never done it.

1) Pickpocket the arrows off of the archers in Castle Dour (steel I think). If you don't have Misdirection you can take their arrows while they're sleeping so they aren't "equipped".
2) Reverse Pickpocket the arrows you want to generate onto them (Ebony, Daedric, etc).
3) When they fire the arrows at the targets just collect them.

If you don't have any Pickpocket skill get potions that will help, save the game, and do the pickpocketing thing while they're sleeping.

I don't know if recent patches have changed this operation, but it worked after 1.4.

Here is a way I farm arrows.

0. Go to a bandit camp and kill everybody in the area except one archer.
1. Shoot the archer with a few arrows of your choice. Do not kill the enemy archer. Heal the archer if necessary. Hitting an enemy with an arrow has some chance of putting it in the enemy's inventory.
2. Enemy will equip the new arrows at some point and will start shooting them back at you. I think staggering the enemy or making him to change into melee mode facilitates the arrow change, but not 100% sure about that.
3. Dodge and collect arrows. Do not die.

I just take arrows off those I kill. Steel or higher or I don't bother. Also I take arrows from all the targets I come across. Solitude has an abundance as well as thieve's guild. They don't care if you take them. Infact I stand there a few minutes and walk away with a good stack. no need to pick pocket or anything. They don't care.

The pickpocketing is just to get the archers to use better arrows. You pull them out of the target to acquire them.

I prefer the thieves guild they tend to fire arrows more quickly

Nice. ...and most of the time you have to bump the one Solitude archer so he starts firing.

There's also a Fletcher in Solitude who sells arrows of all different kinds (sometimes, he even has Daedric Arrows). I know that's not the same as crafting them or glitching them (both fine ways), but it's just an added source of arrows in case you were curious.