Hunter impales himself on arrow

A hunter removing an arrow from a possum slipped and impaled his thigh, hitting the bone.

The incident has prompted calls from hunting groups to be careful as hunters head into the bush in the midst of the roar.

The 51-year-old Katikati man was hunting with his teenage son north of Ruatahuna, in the Bay of Plenty, on Saturday night when the arrow became embedded in his right leg at about 10pm.

With the help of his son, he limped to the nearest hut, Tawhihi, to wait for the Rotorua-based BayTrust Rescue Helicopter.

It arrived about 1am yesterday after hunters from another party walked 6km through dense bush to Ruatahuna and called emergency services.

Other members of the party bandaged the man's leg. earning priase from helicopter pilot Neil Dodds.

"They'd done a very good job of wrapping [the leg] and stopping any form of bleeding.

"They'd done an awesome job, very, very well organised. And then two of them high-footed it to Ruatahuna to raise the alarm."

The helicopter crew used night vision goggles to find the hut. The helicopter was able to land in a nearby clearing.

Paramedics stabilised the man and he was taken to Rotorua Hospital. The arrow had been removed from the man's leg when they arrived.

"There was a fairly decent laceration to his leg," said Mr Dodd.

"He couldn't get himself back in any way, shape or form so we had no other option but to go and grab him."

Hunters around the country are heading into the bush in big numbers in the midst of the roar, the season when stags are calling to attract the attention of mates and protecting their territory.

Hugh Barr, of the Deerstalkers Association, said hunters needed to have their wits about them.

"Hunters need to be careful and make sure you identify your target. The roar brings lots more hunters out.

Although, he says, in this case it seemed to be bad luck.