Can A Sandbag Stop A Bullet?

I don't think you'd see a huge difference even with the mighty 50BMG. It might knock down the wall or burst a bag, but I doubt it would actually penetrate with any energy sufficient to do harm.

Why are sandbags so effective? It's because of how energy is dispersed. The incoming energy of the bullet is divided into so may tiny particles-- the average energy per particle is tiny. It ends up acting like a super-duper catcher's mitt.


Barriers like sandbags are far less effective against diffused energy sources like explosions. Small arms where the incoming energy is concentrated allow the sand to diffuse and defeat the energy.

Not so much with, say, a 155mm round loaded with HE.