We like shooting steel, and done properly, it's plenty safe. We've got a 100 yard range on family property and I cut down an old swingset frame to hang targets in front of the berm. I cut it down to four feet and the targets hang at two feet, supported by old strapping. I prefer strapping to chain, mainly because a stray shot will cut chain, but it will simply zip through the strapping. Old firehose works great too. Every so often, your local fire dept will have to re-certify their fire hose. Those that don't make the cut are normally discarded. If you know a fireman, ask them about old fire hose.
I've bought a 9" and a 6" target from
Quality Targets. They're really nice targets and after a year (hundreds of rounds), they're in great shape. We've fired everything at them, to include 7mm Magnum. All of those rounds were hunting bullets, we don't have any steel core.