Abstract: A sand pump for an oil well includes a tail pipe connected to a barrel. A swab on a mandrel is reciprocatingly operated within the barrel to draw fluid upward from the bottom of the tail pipe. A flap valve at the bottom of the tail pipe and a ball check valve at the top of the tail pipe and below the barrel prevent debris and fluid caught within the pump from running backward through the tail pipe or the barrel. A traveling ball check valve is located immediately above the swab within a knocker on the mandrel to force the fluid upward. A double action swab is used on the mandrel to wipe the barrel bore clean to reduce problems with the sand which is within the liquid being pumped. Also, square shoulders on working parts are used to prevent guiding sand into areas having close tolerance. The fluid openings on the barrel bore are small and restricted so that the velocity of the movement of the mandrel is restricted.