I have two 24" X 48" X 1/4" back stops I have used for 14 years for everything from 22 shorts to HOT 44 mag soft points. Between me, my son and many friends, we have probably put over 50,000 rounds into each backstop/deflector. I've had to rebuild the 2X6 pressure treated frames twice during the past 14 years from splatter eating the wood away and the errant shot(s) from "non-gifted" friends that needed LOTS of practice. The plates are both starting to get a "wallow" in the middle that might be 1/2" deep or out of "flat".

The rifle bullets will be deflected down into a disc'd fire line. I suppose I could increase the length of the backstop and also increase the angle of it as well, and the plate wouldn't take as heavy a beating.

Just for grins, I think tomorrow I'll take a medium-warm hand loaded 130 grain Sierra SPTZ 30-30 and shoot and shoot one of my 1/4" plates and see what it does. (It's a single shot Topper) If it pokes a hole in it, oh well.

If I remember correctly, a 24" X 48" X 3/4" piece of plate steel will weigh about 150 and cost close to $200. Again, if I remember correctly.

Cross ties and burms are a no-go. The road is around planted pines and we burn every year. Backstop must be portable/moveable enough that it can be moved in and out of a narrow road by two men. But then again, I suppose I could build a 3-point hitch on it and move it around with my old Masey 135. Either way, the road has to stay accessable and open.