We at We Like Shooting had a chance to chat with Patrick Priebe, owner of Laser Gadgets, and creature of some pretty amazing functioning advance homemade lasers and coil guns.

WLS. You do a lot with electronics, mostly lasers, what is your background?
PP. I am actually a lab technician (chemistry, paints/polymers). Lasers etc started as a hobby. Knee injury, 4 months sitting at home, boss fired me = own business now.

WLS. You made a Ironman gauntlet, how do you fabricate most of your work?
PP. Most of it is handwork. I don’t own fancy CNC machines. Just some regular electric tools and my hands.

WLS. The main reason I wanted to talk with you is your work with the coil guns (your Gauss Rifle). What do you see in the future for these kind of weapons?
PP. They lack efficiency, but one day, they will replace conventional firearms. Sooner or later, in one way or another.

WLS. Do you consider coil guns weapons? looking at the videos that posted online as well as your own site, (http://laser-gadgets.com) they seem like they would hurt if you were hit with them, but nothing that could be considered in the realm of deadly.
PP. Yes. I did not show that for a reason. My stuff attracts enough idiots. The 4 stage will punch through your hand on a shorter range. Or skull. Pretty sure of that.

WLS. What is the feet per second (fps) that you are able to produce with a projectile?
PP. Never really measured, but I can tell by seeing the damage its dealing.

WLS. A lot of videos online show the projectile tumbling at about 10ft (or less) have you considered, or is it possible to add rifling to the barrel?
PP. A rifled barrel makes no sense. No expanding gas, no rotation. Long barrel means more friction, so less punch.

WLS. Are there other projectile designs that would eliminate the tumbling problem? Would using ball bearings or a shuttlecock design (hollow tube with solid steel tip) create a more stable projectile that would shoot straighter?
PP. Shape is not super important. and too complicated. Don’t even think the projectile velocity is high enough to gain more stability that way.
But the next version will be bigger and more advanced… stability-wise.

WLS. what are your current projectiles made out of?
PP. Its regular steel. Iron would be a bit better, but does not really matter.

WLS. Can you explain the science behind a Coil Gun, for people who have no idea how they work.
PP. A coil gun uses a capacitor, and a solenoid/coil. The stored energy will create a strong field, for only a few milliseconds.

WLS. How many shots can you get out of one of your coil guns before it needs to be recharged? (does it need recharging or do you replace the batteries?)
PP. You can fire around 150 shots I think. Batteries are Li Ion, separately rechargeable.

WLS. Have you considered using conventional firearms in any future productions?
PP. Not here in Germany. Not even sure if all my stuff is totally legal. I don’t sell those prototypes, just wanna show what you can do at home. I wont make weapons for anybody.

WLS. What can we expect to see from you in the future?
PP. More stuff from video games, laser guns and freaky gadgets in general 🙂

Patrick Priebe can be contacted through his website at http://laser-gadgets.com/