With every entrant being selected to continue on, the testing team received a handful of pistols from each manufacturer. The eight horses used for testing were acquired from the veterinary service and were all Murinsulaner nags retired out of siege artillery trains for old age or hoof injuries. The horses were on average 155cm at the shoulder and 750kg, and were placed twenty meters from the shooter. If Plywood cover was used, this was placed two meters from the horse to simulate light cover.
The Testing Team are legitimately terrified of the Baal pistol. While it is certainly powerful enough, the long recoil action combined with the powerful round used make it deeply unpleasant to shoot, and borderline impossible to line up follow-up shots. The safety is absolutely lovely though, as is the well placed decocking lever and double action trigger. Testing with overpressure ammunition was successful to a point although the last round in the magazine propelled the action out of the back of the gun due to previous wear on the retaining surfaces. Loading was simple and reliable although magazines are not fully interchangeable. Otherwise, extraction was enthusiastic, to the point of probable injury (the testing team's insistence on proper protective clothing, namely a close helmet with a tempered glass visor.) A nag was successfully killed from twenty meters through light cover (a sheet of two ply,) and autopsy displayed major trauma caused by the five rounds which landed in the thoracic cavity and the round which penetrated the vertebral artery before embedding itself deeply in a vertebrae.
The action still mostly reliable after rusting, only occasionally needing a hard smack to free the barrel. Post-rusting the pistol's accuracy suffered dramatically on the testing stand, but was not tested from the hand due to safety concerns. Debris ingress is a bit of a problem, but the pistol can easily power through it.
About the only thing the Testing Team liked about the Falkenheimer pistol is the grip. Otherwise, it is overly long to be comfortable one handed, the loading system is stiff enough that it should count as a delayed blowback weapon, and while the magazines are compact and easy to carry large numbers of, loading requires three hands and is probably not practical on horseback. The Safety is reliable, easily accessible and not worth discussing. No failures were observed in testing that were not related to the unnecessarily complicated loading system which failed early and often particularly when any measurable amount of sand or grit was introduced. Accuracy was good once the shooter adjusted for how ungainly the pistol was, but was uncomfortable to use for extended periods without the stock. The pistol took a whole magazine of eight rounds to kill a nag mostly from lung perforations. Light cover was not used due to the low penetration of the round in previous testing.
The action was unreliable after rusting due to the loading system becoming even more stiff and unreliable. Accuracy did not suffer, but the pistol was unable to go through an entire magazine without major stoppages.
The Bagira pistol actually came out as one of the best options for the cavalry. The double action option on the trigger and decocker provided an additional safety blanket aside from the safety, and were comfortably placed. Loading with a feed strip was easy and reliable, and kept the action well sealed. Accuracy was above average, and the pistol was comfortable to use for extended periods despite its near vertical grip. Against the nag, the pistol easily penetrated the cover, but took the entire magazine to kill the horse. Autopsy showed perforations of the heart, right lung and hepatic veins, as well as a broken and displaced rib.
The action of the Bagira was mostly reliable after rusting, with the major complaint being the bolt carrier needing a good slap occasionally to free it if the pistol had not been loaded just right.
The Selbstladepistole C53 is another serious entrant, and performed well almost universally. The testing team reports that without the stock it handles almost exactly like a revolver, and has the same handling quirks, with the exception that the weight is lower down so muzzle climb isn't as bad as on a revolver. With the stock, the C53 becomes easily the best shooter out of the bunch. The ten round magazine loads as easily as on the Bagira. The action is well protected, and resistant to most environmental conditions. Against the nag, the weapon easily penetrated light cover, and retained enough energy to reach the heart and leave a projectile embedded in the spine. Three separate immediately fatal wounds were discovered in the autopsy, including penetrations of the pulmonary artery, windpipe and vagus nerve.
The C53 remained reliable after rusting, if becoming noticeably stiffer. Accuracy as a pistol did not noticeably suffer, but a slight degradation on the order of a minute of angle was recorded with the stock.
The Sarpu is the weakest of the blowback pistols, and an astoundingly simple gun in practice. The testing team found it highly accurate, despite it's terrifyingly simple design, and mostly reliable. The action did not handle sand or grit well however, and the safety on the gun left the testing team nervous. The pistol's magazine release was also awkwardly placed next to the safety instead of being on the heel. Against the nag, the Sarpu was the second worst performer, and was not tested with light cover due to how low penetration it was. The horse received only one fatal wound out of the eight fired, in this case nicking the carotid artery.
The Sarpu handled rusting well, but with only a slight increase in failures and lower accuracy.
The Frankengatsch is a beast, and a well engineered one at that. The testing team found it reliable and accurate to shoot despite its power thanks to the relative weight of the pistol. The safety is well placed, and includes a decocking lever, which would be better if the pistol were equipped with a double action trigger, but this can be trained around. The action was well sealed and most dust and debris was blown out of the pistol violently, with the main problem coming from the direct impingement gas system requiring fairly regular cleaning to prevent carbon build up in the gas block (which was easily done with kerosene lamp oil, and engine oil will suffice for lubrication.) The pistol, despite its power is fairly quick to line up for follow up shots, although this requires some adjustment to the muzzle flash and noise of firing. The stock makes the overall pistol fairly enjoyable to shoot for something so powerful, but is a bit narrow as it does not holster the pistol internally. Against the nag, even through light cover every round that didn't strike a rib was devastating, with individual rounds creating wound cavities the size of a lance hit, including one round which put a fist sized hole in the horse's heart.
The Frankengatsch handled rust well, mostly from the weight of the bolt and the sheer force of the action. Accuracy and reliability did not meaningfully suffer.
The Simson pistol is the most powerful compact pistol on offer, and is a solid generalist. The testing team loves it, and finds that without the stock, it is handy, highly accurate and reliable. Dust and debris ingress is a problem when locked open, but otherwise the pistol is decently sealed and easy to clean. The magazine release is comfortable to use, and the magazine is securely held but easily removed and inserted. The safety is at the back of the gun, under the toggle lock and is easily operated with a thumb. Against the nag, it was the weakest pistol tested with plywood and sustained a number of surface wounds including two cracked ribs while also maintaining enough energy to lodge a round in the pericardium. Although all eight rounds failed to kill the horse in one go, the ninth round fired through the skull to euthanize the horse was found lodged in the C3 vertebrae having passed through the skull, brain and several other soft tissues before arriving there.
The Simson handled rust decently, with some minor stoppages from the toggle freezing up and a stovepipe.
The Schaubler is a handy little pocket pistol. The testing team found it handy, compact, and while it recoiled a bit for something its size thanks to its action, it wasn't out of line compared to larger pistols. Overall it handled testing well, with accuracy being the main problem due to its relative recoil for its size. It was resilient enough to dust and sand, and ran well. The controls were well laid out, with the safety being immediately next to the trigger, and the magazine release being on the heel. The Schaubler was not tested against cover because that would be ridiculous. Against the nag, it scored no immediately fatal hits, but successfully broke multiple ribs and perforated a lung. One last round as used to euthanize the horse, and that projectile was found in an eye, after having ricocheted around inside the skull multiple times.
The Schaubler stood up to chemically induced rust well, but would occasionally have issues with the barrel and recoil spring getting stuck, and needing to be struck free, which while not a problem on the range could be fatal in combat.
With initial testing done, you can select which pistols will continue on to cavalry trials for proper standardization. At the time a cavalry pistol is adopted you can decide whether or not to approve other designs for purchase.
