I shot at a guys house last weekend and we used an old sand pile as a back stop. I missed target on one of the shots and hit the sand. I was aiming at one of the top dots on my target and pulled it high and shot just over it and into the sand. I ruined my fletchings. They are all scared up and brown and wavy. I don't think it is a great backstop unless you are able to re-fletch your own arrows at home. It did a great job at stopping the arrow though.