Although Dr. King hardly ever took a vacation, he had a range of interests and pursuits in addition to his work, such as boating, audio technology, photography and film-making. From an early age, Dr. King enjoyed shooting and became a very good marksman with small caliber rifles, winning many prizes.

He enjoyed working to improve his marksmanship by training his eye, his breath and his ability to sight and accurately hit a target. He never used a gun to shoot an animal or other living things. In California, he used to enjoy going out with a couple of people to an outdoor shooting range. At Lake Powell, he would occasionally plink at targets with both a rifle and a handgun.