KEY POINTS:
A duck shooter intentionally shot a fellow sportsman at close range because of a dispute over maimai territory, police say.
The victim, a 61-year-old Morrinsville man, was hit in the face and chest by five pellets on Saturday morning - minutes after the duck shooting season began - and had surgery at Waikato Hospital.
Police say he was lucky not to have been killed.
He was released yesterday but asked to return to the hospital today because doctors were unable to remove all the pellets during the initial operation.
Police would not reveal how many times he was shot but say it was at least once and at a range of less than 100m.
The incident happened at Patetonga Lagoon, a popular duck-shooting spot about 20 minutes north of Morrinsville, on the first morning of the season.
The local ranger said a report that the man was shot five times was wrong and that he had in fact been hit by five pellets from a single shot.
Detectives from Matamata-Piako criminal investigation bureau are working on the case but have yet to speak to the shooter, who is also from the Waikato.
They say it is a miracle the victim escaped with only minor injuries.
"It's sad and unnerving that a dispute over the beginning of the season has turned into something which could have ended in a fatality," Detective Sergeant Rod Carpinter said.
Police knew who the shooter was but had been unable to locate him.
"We obviously need to speak to that person to determine why things have unfolded the way they have. [But] it appears to be quite a lengthy dispute over maimais."
Mr Carpinter said the dispute had been going on for a couple of seasons and the shooting appeared intentional based on a police examination of the area and what witnesses had said.
Detectives needed to hear the shooter's story before deciding if charges would be laid.
"It's probably more of a miracle than anything else that the victim hasn't received serious injuries. I'm amazed that we're not dealing with a fatality," Mr Carpinter said.
He would not reveal the distance of the shot but said it was less than 100m, which is the minimum distance maimais must be from one another.
A news report yesterday said the shooter was believed to have fired from about 60m.
Police would also not reveal if the shooter was licensed but said inquiries into "his history in the duck-shooting fraternity" were being made.
The victim was licensed and not believed to have provoked the attack.
Mr Carpinter, who is based in Morrinsville, said he had never seen a dispute between duck shooters erupt to this extent.
"They're usually responsible characters who would not even contemplate this type of action."
Malcolm Brodie, the local ranger and president of Morrinsville Fish & Game, said disputes over maimais were common because competition for the best shooting spots was fierce, particularly in the first week of the season.
Duck shooters must buy a licence which includes a tag that they then place at a maimai on a pre-season mark-up day to give them rights to that spot.
Mr Brodie said shooters must be in place by 7.30am on the season's first day to retain their rights to a maimai. Police were called to the Saturday incident at 7.45am.
He said competition for good spots at Patetonga could have intensified this year because it was drier than usual and a lot of the ponds had no water.
It is not known how many shooters were at the lagoon on Saturday, but he said it was a large area with 15 to 20 ponds, and usually there would be five or six shooters around each pond.
Mr Brodie said he knew both the men involved and a report that the victim was shot five times was incorrect.
"The man got shot once. The facts were simply that he got hit by fivepellets."
The victim did not want to speak last night. He was said to be recovering, but still in pain.
