Name and birthplace?
Leon Ralph Wright. Yes, I know the second name is as bad as the first, blame my mother. Born in Yarrawonga, Victoria.
When did you first start hunting?
I honestly don’t know when I started hunting, I was that young. However I do remember my first hunt; I was hunting rabbits with my father and we were using a Sporting Arms Huntsman in .22 rimfire. A single shot rifle weighing no more than 2kg. When it was my turn to shoot I had to rest it on a stump, it was that heavy. I still have the rifle.
What are your three favourite species to hunt?
My three favourite species that I hunt are sambar deer, ducks, and rabbits/foxes…but in actual fact I love hunting anything.
What’s your favourite hunting technique?
I use different methods to hunt, depending on the species, but I do favour sitting high on a saddle quietly watching for animal movement with my binoculars. Apart from that I gain a great deal of satisfaction from stalking in close to my quarry.
What’s your favourite hunting destination?
I have hunted extensively throughout Australia and New Zealand and every place I have hunted over is very special to me.
Tell us about the top three favourite firearms that you own (or bows).
My top three firearms are as follows: for game birds, fox and rabbit shooting over ferrets I use a Beretta under and over I have two Berettas, the first is a 686E in 12 gauge and the other is a Silver Pigeon in 20 gauge.
My second favourite is naturally a Brno (or CZ as they are now called) in .22 rimfire. It has a heavy barrel with a Leupold 4-12x-50 variable scope attached to it. This rifle is mainly used for rabbit hunting.
The third firearm is a left handed Ruger in .338 magnum. I’d like to say I have a Swarovski scope attached to it, but I haven’t. Instead I have an old Tasco 1.75–5x variable attached to it. It has never lost its clarity or lost its zero once in the 20 years it has sat on my rifle and I have carried it on more hunts than I will ever remember. The rifle is on its second barrel, a 300 Winchester magnum being the first.
When did you start writing for Sporting Shooter?
My first article appeared in Sporting Shooter in August 1976 and was titled ‘Get those Goats and Pigs’ (the title was the Editor’s work not mine).
What do you enjoy about writing for a hunting magazine?
Writing for a hunting magazine gives me the opportunity to share my hunting with other like-minded people. I get great enjoyment from discussing all facets of hunting with other hunters and I am genuinely pleased when someone rings me for a chat about hunting.
What is the best or most satisfying article you have written for Sporting Shooter?
As for the best article I think I have written, well how long is a piece of string. All I can say to answer the question is that I try to make every article as interesting as possible accompanied by interesting photos.
What advice can you give anyone wanting to get in to hunting writing?
The best advice I can give a budding writer is to get into it; it’s really not as hard as you think. For goodness sake if an old bushie like me can do it after a limited education, anyone can. Just write from the heart and take interesting photos.
Leon loves hunting with his great mates, who he credits with providing him with many more hunting opportunities than he would have had otherwise.
Quail hunting with good mates is one of Leon’s favourite activities.
Leon lists ducks as amongst his top three species to hunt.
0 Comments