A Waikato hunter has admitted firing the fatal shot that killed a Katikati grandfather.
Quentin Clay McCreedy, 37, didn't seek name suppression when he appeared in the Hamilton District Court today charged with careless use of a firearm causing the death of Gordon Douglas Leech, 57.
McCreedy, of the small Waikato town of Waitoa, and Leech were hunting deer in the Kaimai Range when McCreedy mistook the victim for a deer, firing one shot, hitting him in the chest.
The accident happened during the "roar", when stags are at their most fearless as they look for female deer. It was also Easter weekend.
Leech was hunting alone in dense and remote bush off Wairakau Rd, about 15km south of Te Aroha. McCreedy was hunting with another person.