The original coilgun circuit used a relay which quickly suffered from contact problems due to the large current flow so I have replaced it with a thyristor.

I’m using a FS2514MH thyristor with an non-repetitive on-state current rating of 330A.

Datasheet: https://www.fagorelectronica.com/images/download/semiconductor/fs25st.pdf

I took the oportunity during testing to record the current waveform using a LEM PR1235 current probe.

As you can see, the peak current is 216A.