Sand, in the form of sandbags, has been used by the military for many years. There are probably many reasons it is used, including the fact that sand is available and cheap (free), but it wouldn't be used unless it worked.

So, how well does it work?

I could have just shot sand bags, but sand bags come in many forms and sizes. And, it would matter how they were stacked, end-wise, sideways, etc.

But the main problem would be that there would be no way for me to accurately measure exactly how many inches of sand had been penetrated.

I determined that I would build some boxes with drywall on each side to hold the sand.

We had learned in past tests that drywall doesn't do a very good job of stopping bullets, so it shouldn't overly affect the tests. This would allow me to exactly measure how much sand each round penetrated.

The boxes were each made from 2 X 6 lumber, so there was 5 1/2 inches of depth of sand in each box. Both sides of the boxes were covered with a 1/2 inch piece of drywall.

I wasn't sure how much sand it would take to stop a bullet, so I built 4 boxes. Turns out I "over-built".

Okay, enough talking, let's start shooting.

First, a .22 LR from a .22 revolver.

Didn't expect much penetration, but it went about 5 inches into the sand.

Then 9mm Ball.

The 9mm Ball went all the way through the first box and stopped before entering the second box.

It dimpled the back of the drywall, but did not exit.