Potting soil as a "sand barrel" for handguns?

[BehindBlueI's]

I'm convinced of the upside of having a sand barrel, but aesthetically I'm not sure it would go in my office.

Potentially silly question, but wouldn't a large potted plant serve the purpose of a sand barrel? I'm thinking 20" or so of potting soil should be plenty to stop a .45 if it came to that.

Overthinking it probably, but everyone always says "sand" and never "dirt" barrel, and all the ones at the ranges are full of sand or that super hard rubber that's supposed to catch the bullet.

 

[MCgrease08]

Only one way to find out. Would you be able to facilitate a way to safely test it?

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Oh, I'm sure I could test it on my rural land. I'm just looking to not reinvent the wheel if the knowledge is already out there.

 

[jd4320t]

I don't know if potting soil is dense enough...good hard dirt prolly would be.

 

[wolfman]

Try this, then decide for yourself. Take 2 paper cups, punch a couple of small holes in the bottom of each, fill one with with potting soil, the other with sand, add enough water to fill each cup up then allow all of the water to drain out, then see how far and easily you can push your finger down into each. I think you will find that shooting into potting soil wouldn't turn out very well, and a bucket of damp sand is your friend.

 

[Mgderf]

I do see potential problems.

While a properly filled and packed flower pot of dirt, I think it would be more than sufficient to stop even a .45acp, I wonder for how long.

If you have plants growing in the pot, the roots will naturally displace the dirt and create voids.
The dirt will also tend to dry out unless properly hydrated.

Yes, I believe a pot of dirt would suffice to stop a round. The caveat is it would require maintenance.

 

[Tyler-The-Piker]

I guess a stack of phone books wouldn't be too aesthetically pleasing either, huh?
I wonder if sand is popular for those barrels because there's more friction/stopping power in sand than in soil/dirt?

 

[Mgderf]

You could always try lining the pot with coil stock of sheet metal to help facilitate a stop.

The bullet would then need to pass through the pot, coiled sheet steel, plastic/rubber liner, potting soil and plant, then out the other side.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

You could always try lining the pot with coil stock of sheet metal to help facilitate a stop.

The bullet would then need to pass through the pot, coiled sheet steel, plastic/rubber liner, potting soil and plant, then out the other side.

I've got access to chunks of telephone pole. I could put a 12" slab of telephone pole in the bottom of the pot and as long as I aimed straight down for clearing I think that would be plenty of back stop. The wood would definitely stop the bullet and the dirt on top would stop any splinters from flying out.

Hmmm...that's probably smarter than just relying on dirt. You've got a good point about it requiring maintenance, so even a simple test wouldn't be real proof of the same effect while the soil is dry or full of plant roots.

 

[Beorn]

Potting soil would be a vey poor substitute compared to sand for stopping a bullet. Most potting soils are a mixture of different loamy materials which allow the roots of plants to disperse easily.

If you have ever picked up a bag of sand or potting soil, which do you think you could punch a hole through faster with your fist.

 

[Six Forty-Two]

What if you took a large pot, put a couple of phonebooks on the bottom, then put the plant and potting soil on top?

 

[chezuki]

Why not put a circular AR-500 target in the bottom with the soil on top. IF the round made it through the soil (which I don't think it would) it's not penetrating the AR-500.

 

[AM The Concrete Feat]

I gotta think that ranges, etc, use sand because it's cheaper than putting soil.

 

[AM The Concrete Feat]

However, sand does pack more tightly than soil that plants can root in. What's the pot made out of?

 

[herby31]

Its all about the density of the pack. I think the usmc taught me that 3 sandbags of packed dirt were required to do the same job as one bag of sand, because the sand particles fit together tighter. I distinctly remember an instructor firing rounds into ammo cans full of dirt, water, and sand. I decided i'd hide behind a sand filled object as my first choice.

 

[jbombelli]

I'll reiterate what others have said: sand packs more tightly and densely and weighs more than potting soil. I wouldn't trust potting soil.

 

[churchmouse]

Try this, then decide for yourself. Take 2 paper cups, punch a couple of small holes in the bottom of each, fill one with with potting soil, the other with sand, add enough water to fill each cup up then allow all of the water to drain out, then see how far and easily you can push your finger down into each. I think you will find that shooting into potting soil wouldn't turn out very well, and a bucket of damp sand is your friend.

Totally this^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[243rem700]

Depending on what is being planted in the pot and its size, you could fill the pot 1/2 or 3/4 way with sand and then fill the rest with potting soil.

 

[Bunnykid68]

How about this, phone book, sand , then a few inches of potting soil?

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Ok, so what depth of sand is required to stop a .45?