Hey Alan H, thanks for your reply! Yeah, that was what my intuition was. I think I will try to build something akin to what you have described. The description of the Ballistica claims that the parts bought separately for the unit would cost 700$... maybe that's true but it sounds outrageous to me. At any rate I think that I could put something together that would be a constructive training tool (especially given that I am an absolute beginner) and leave me some money for kilt (food might be a good idea too) needs. The only advantage that I could think for purchasing the Ballistica would be that it would more accurately replicate weight in ratio to length etc. that you would encounter during games. Even this seems a bit unlikely to me. After all, mostly I just want to throw stuff...why get too fancy?