Probably a bit of a weird question. I have always made my wood arrows in sets of a dozen finished all exactly the same. Right now I find myself with various feathers that are not complete dozens. How many of you make up your arrows in finished sets less than a dozen? Do you do it frequently, all the time, never? If you make a dozen at a time are they always all finished the same? What is it about this dozen thing?

Am I losing my mind? I am 75 after all.

Last few years I have been making half dozens. I don't know why, guess I thought I didn't need more than 6 of a kind at a time. I will put field points on two and broad heads on the other four when I decide which ones I will use for my hunting. If I plan on some 3D shoots I will put field points on all six. Works for me as I don't shoot a lot where arrows are lost or broken.

I've made them up in batches of less than a dozen and more than a dozen.

I've made up say 3 or 4 that match for blunts or judos for example.

And I've made 14 to 18 that all match for a particular bow so I can replace the ones I lose or break.

Just do what you want.

Way I go through woodies I always make a doz. Used to make a “bakers” doz because I always broke on the first day out. Our backstops were dirt piles that weren’t always sifted real good. Hunting rabbits or stumping always claimed a few. Actually today is the first time I started out to make a half doz anything. I am making 6 AO aluminums for my target bow for indoor shooting.

I base it on matching them for weight. But I am conditioned to think in dozens

I try to make my wood arrows in sets of 15. That lasts me one season of 3D, hunting, and then the ragged remnants are blunts for stumping and missing rabbits the next year. I always do my arrows close enough to the same that although they may look different, last year's arrows shoot the same as this year's. 28.75" BOP, 57# (+ - 2#) spine, 470-490 grains finished weight, 4 X 3" fletch. I'm really thinking about going back to the 3 X 5" inferior fletch configuration because it looks so much better, and I shoot all my game inside of 20 yards. I have a huge box of old leftover arrows that I really wish I or someone else could use.

I usually make them 6 at a time, I usually carry three to hunt with. I also like to make different paint schemes and a dozen is too much, I would have to build a separate building to store them all.

Plus I am 75 also and don't break as many as I used too.

I've done half dozens for 20 years.

You could almost say I have always done half dozens, as I used to make my dozens 1/2 and 1/2 feather pattern/color. 1/2 dozen - 2 red, one white - the other 1/2 - 2 white, one red, or similar.

Just something else for you to ponder, eh Bill?

Pondering is my hobby. You'd be surprised how many things there are to ponder in archery.

Last ones I made a couple years ago were a dozen. But thinking about making 6 at a time.

I go through a lot of arrows so my minimum is a dozen. I buy my shafts unweighted because it's cheaper and then make sets of arrows in ten pound spine groups.

Been making arrows from scratch since 2004. Never done just a dozen, because when I make shafts it's two dozen to about seven dozen. When I finish them it's usually thirty up to about 80. A whole lot of enjoyable work.

Just always did them in dozens. 6 is not enough to get through a year or at least it didn't use to be. I don't shoot quite as much and don't break as many but will still continue doing it that way.

As to all finished the same? Yup pretty much every batch remained the same.

If I make a dozen, usually 3 are broad heads, 3 are judos or blunts, and 6 are field points. Different fletching for each group but match in color. Yellow & yellow barred for example. I also prefer very minimal cresting on my arrows.

Deno

"You'd be surprised how many things there are to ponder in archery."

No, I'm right there with you my friend....a ponderer by nature.

Funny! I was about to post the same quote…

Use it or lose it! If pondering archery keeps your mind working, it’s all to the good.

Myself, I have “inherited” a lot of shafts snd traded for a lot of odds & ends and I don’t give a rip about being all matchy-matchy….. but I would be if I were finishing nice woodies, and I think I would match as many (color & crest) as I had that were matched “close enough for my purposes” in terms of spine & weight.

I’m pretty sure we buy arrows by the dozen because an End used to be 6. There’s probably no other reason to think in dozens, but we do.

And I guess I would venture that most of us are OK with doing a number of things “the way that we do” because that’s how we like to do it, and in this case no harm can come, so why the hell not??

OTOH…. If I were tuning my bow to a batch of arrows, may as well make it as big a batch as I can. If you only owned one bow, it’s a non-issue; but if you have a number of bows with slightly different specs, you need to know what each bow calls for and what each arrow is going to give you. And then if you have a log where are you know what a specific combination of colors in crest work it out to, then you can dial in each new bow that you acquire pretty quickly and easily just based on where things hit. And that’s convenient. Honestly, I have no quibble with convenience!

Like many of you I have accumulated a lot of parts and pieces over the years. When I make wooden arras I go thru the groups of spine weights and select all the ones that match. Then I do the grain weight. I may only find 4 or 5 that are the same. If that is what I have then that is what I make. I will however, group them w/ the same cresting and feathers. When you look in my quiver you will see small groups of arras that match. I know what they are and how they shoot. At times I will add numbers on those arras to know the best and the worst of that particular group.

If I am making shoot arrows I ay just make one. If I Kammaking white pine arrows I may just make 6. It depends. Jawge

I guess part of my problem is that I must be a bit OCD about my arrows matching in appearance when I go out to shoot. That's why I tend to make a full dozen at a time. Sometimes when I am going out in the back yard to practice I will grab a full quiver of arrows at a time so while I am shooting I don't have to keep walking back and forth to the target area.

I've made arrows in less than a dozen. I've made three, four, and sometimes six at a time. I've also made them where the only thing that matched was the length, spine, and physical weight. Sometimes if I make a dozen arrows, I'll make six plain for targets or stumping and six fancy for hunting.

George and Bill, I'll bet there are many more of us "hobby" ponderers on here than have chimed in. Once you go over the "70 hump," it nearly becomes an addiction! LOL

Where are the PICTURES??? Like to see the photos of the PURDY ARROWS??

All the pictures are in the other thread on wood arrow making. Lots of really nice arrows there. I didn't want to hijack that thread with my olde pharte ramblings.

have never made a dozen. have never spine tested either. i fletch what shafts i make, glue on target points & try them out. if they fly well, i glue broadheads on them & shoot again. good flight? in with the hunting gear...i don't have as many tomato stakes as you might suspect.

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