When I ventured to CO last winter I strung up, what some have called "The worst target stand in existence" I had made two V shapes with two 2x4's. Then I took a cheap (bought at pawn shop for $2) weight lifting bar to use as a cross beam. I set it up in the snow and lashed it with paracord. Finally, I tied the firehose to each leg w/ paracord to keep it centered. I used fire hose as suspension, grade 8 fasteners and an AR500 plate.
The target stand held up well. It survived a blizzard, the weight bar was shot several times, and the wood absorbed plenty of shrapnel.
See fig. 1