Trap King

Grant Williams is a simple man. Not in the sense that he lacks any sort of intellect, but purely in the way he goes about his life.

The Silver Valley native loves his family, works hard and enjoys the amenities of life in the mountains of North Idaho.

Soft-spoken, friendly, humble and hard-working are the common descriptors used to describe Williams by his friends and family — traits anyone would love to have said about them.

Not exactly what you would expect from a national champion trap shooter.

It was back in August when Williams won the 123rd Grand American Trapshooting Championship in Sparta, Ill. — a shoot that featured more than 3,000 of the best trapshooters in the world.

Williams’ championship is what is termed the High All-Around championship and is the aggregate score of three different disciplines. Single target, double target and handicap.

Out of a best possible score of 400, Williams scored 398 — which likely makes him the most lethal man in the world with a 12-gauge shotgun.

The handicap event in particular is impressive, because — similar to golf — the better you are the lower your handicap is.

But in trapshooting, the better you are, the further back you stand to shoot.

Williams stands as far back as you can.

A 2009 Kellogg High School graduate, Williams, 31, doesn’t parade his championship around — save for a pretty sweet championship ring — and even then, when you ask him about it he gives almost all of the credit to his family.

Trapshooting runs deep in the Williams family — both Williams’ father Darin and uncle Beaver were talented shooters who got their start from their father, Floyd Williams.

The brothers passed this art down to their sons; Beaver to his son, Derek, and Darin to his sons, Grant and Garrett.

Darin himself is a member of the Idaho Trapshooting Hall of Fame — a destination that Grant is likely to find himself enshrined as well.

Williams has been shooting competitively since he was 11 years old, old enough to withstand the steady dose of recoil that comes with repeatedly firing a shotgun.

“It’s been a family deal for a long time and we’ve all been pretty successful at it,” Williams said. “At this point, I’m the one who does most of the competition stuff — but my dad and uncle will go occasionally.”

Williams is gearing up for the upcoming shooting season, but even with his otherworldly talent and championship resume, trapshooting is still something he does for fun — not as a career.

There is a saying that if you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life.

But Williams has flipped that mantra, and is striving to keep these things apart so he can maintain trapshooting as an outlet.

“I don’t want to turn it into a job because I really enjoy doing it,” Williams said. “I’ll probably keep competing the same way that I have been. I like to be able to do what I can, when I can. I actually shoot with a couple of guys who have been on the Olympic team and it’s a full-time job. You’re there all the time, and just get a few breaks.”

Shooting at such a high level is as much mental as it is physical, and a lot of times it feels like it’s the shooter going against themselves.

Williams’ secret — keeping the right frame of mind.

“Stay positive, always be positive — and be confident in your ability to do it,” he told the News-Press.

Williams is thankful for his support system.

Not just the aforementioned family members that shoot alongside him, but also his wife, Cari, his mom, Beth, and many others.

“My family has been very supportive of me, I’m really thankful for all of their support.”

Without a doubt, the next time Grant Williams competes he’ll have the support of the entire Silver Valley as well.