Name and birthplace?
Mick Matheson, Sydney, Australia
When did you first start hunting?
I think I was about eight when I was first allowed to take the single-shot .22 down to the paddock full of old mines, blackberries and rabbits on the farm we had near Mudgee. It was my favourite thing to do.
What are your three favourite species to hunt?
Deer, pigs and foxes. Deer are a hunter’s best challenge, pigs are just plain fun and foxes want to eat my chooks.
What’s your favourite hunting technique?
Stalking. I get a real kick from not just being in the bush, but from blending into it and becoming part of it, seeing all those amazing things that happen out there, using my wits to get close enough for a good shot. It’s also a good way to keep fit.
What’s your favourite hunting destination?
I haven’t found it yet! I’ve been lucky enough to hunt places as diverse as semi-urban Sydney and forests in Sweden, and I really can’t pick a favourite.
Tell us about the top three favourite firearms that you own (or bows).
My Ruger Gunsite Scout with Aimpoint Micro red-dot sight is my favourite as it’s fun, accurate, versatile and a real thrill on running game and mobs of pigs or goats. The TikkaT3 Lite Stainless in .223 is the go-to gun around the farm — it’s utterly dependable. And even though I barely use it, the 1943 Lithgow-built SMLE is a cool thing to have.
When did you start writing/working for Sporting Shooter?
I’ve been writing for Sporting Shooter for almost a decade, and edited the website for a while.
What do you enjoy about writing/working for a hunting magazine?
Telling stories and keeping shooters informed is a rewarding thing. It inevitably ends up opening my eyes to things I might not have considered or tried, like hunting overseas and shooting with a red-dot sight. My hunting life is better for such experiences.
What is the best or most satisfying article you have written for Sporting Shooter?
A series of stories I wrote for the website in October 2012 detailed proposed changes to NSW shooting regulations that could have crippled the sport. They would have given police too much power, damaged the industry and put everyday shooters under awful legal pressure for no good reason. Those stories helped raise awareness of the threat, which in turn strengthened the efforts of the Shooters and Fishers Party, SSAA and others who ultimately had these proposals withdrawn.
What advice can you give anyone wanting to get in to hunting writing?
Do your best with the photos, because words can be edited but pics must be good from the start.
Please supply three of your favourite hunting photos from past or present.
Mick has been lucky enough to hunt wild boar in Bulgaria.
Glassing for deer on one of those spectacular hunting days during the fallow rut in autumn.
This shot of one of Mick’s mates lining up on a buck moments before the sun broke over the horizon is one of his favourites.Â
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