Concentration. The wind blows but his body remains still. In anticipation, he raises his gun a little higher and takes a deep breath. Swoosh! The clay starts its trajectory and he fires. The clay bursts into splintering pieces and the young man smiles. Junior Connor King has just shot 198 clay discs out of 200, and has won the junior Amateur Trap Shooting state competition.

 Amateur Trapshooting is a sport in which participants, ages seven to 80, shoot 100 or 200 clay discs out of their air with firearms and are graded on their accuracy. For junior Connor King, this is a love that he has had since he was young.

 “I just went to shoot one day and got hooked,” King said. “I have been shooting competitively since 2011, but I’ve been shooting my whole life.”

 In 2011 King won the sub-junior state competition for the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA), he won the 4-H sporting clays in 2012, and recently won state for the junior ATA trapshooting division last year.

 “Trapshooting has taught me to calm down,” King said. “When I first started I would get really mad if I missed, but now I don’t and that’s why I believe I shoot better.”

 King’s dad trained him to shoot and he enjoys “anything with guns.” After winning state, his goals have reached nationally.

 “One day I hope to got to Sparta, Illinois and compete in the Grand American,” King said.

 King uses trapshooting as a way to earn extra money and teach him important life skills. He believes that shooting is an vital skill for everyone.

 “I believe we all need to learn to shoot,” King said. “Everyone needs to learn proper safety. It’s an important skill to learn so we can protect our second amendment rights.”