I have been hanging things on walls for decades, and rarely do I use a stud (metal or wood). I almost always use drywall anchors. If you have a heavy item, using a few toggle bolts 8 inches apart will support a lot of weight. There are some exceptions, such as a television, a large mirror, etc. But, I have seen homeowners spend a lot of unnecessary time and effort attaching an item to a stud, when a drywall anchor will do just fine.
I once installed the Container Store Elfa system in a garage. Their system uses drywall anchors every 8 inches to attach a single horizontal bracket around top of the room. Everything else, shelving, cabinets, etc. is hung from that one bracket, and it will hold almost anything you would store in a garage. I think they even have a demonstration in their stores to prove how much weight their drywall system will support.
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