A New Zealand hunter is lucky to be alive after a friend mistook him for a deer and shot him in the back with a .270 rifle . Max Verschuuren , 21 , was bent over emptying rocks out of his boot on his way to a felled deer in the Te Urewera forest , North Island , on Saturday night when his mate blasted his back open . 'All of a sudden I heard this whack and the sound of a gun shot , ' Mr Verschuuren told Daily Mail Australia . Grisly photographs snapped in hospital show the gaping , bloody wound it left . Keen hunter : Max Verschuuren , 21 , has been hunting all his life - but on Saturday evening he accidentally became the hunted when his friend mistook him for a deer . ' I thought , `` oh s*** '' , and had all this blood dripping down my back ' : Max Verschuuren is pictured here in hospital . Bloody wound : Grisly photographs released by Mr Verschuuren show the damage the bullet did to his left shoulder blade . Blunt Snapchat : Doctors have stitched up Mr Verschuuren after he was shot in the back on Saturday evening . He tumbled down the hill he was perched on , falling into the bushes in a desperate attempt to escape any further bullets . ' I thought , `` oh s*** '' , and had all this blood dripping down my back . ' I said , `` f***en ' stop , that 's me ! '' . ' I just wanted to get out of it in case they still thought I was a deer . ' Mr Verschuuren was wearing a dim headlight . His shooter thought it was the reflection of light in a deer 's eyes . After his friend carried him over to the rest of the hunting party , Mr Verschuuren kept his cool , worried that he would otherwise go into shock . The mate who shot him was mortified . 'He 's truly f***ing sorry . He could n't sleep . 'He 's come to see me every day in the hospital . 'He 's a good guy , not an idiot , not a loser , s*** happens yeah . 'Wrong place wrong time for both us . Stitched up : Mr Verschuuren has spent days in hospital since he was shot at the back of his shoulder blade . He was expecting to be discharged on Monday afternoon . Local police are investigating the incident . In a statement , Bay of Plenty investigators issued a warning to hunters to take appropriate safety measures . 'It 's ... a reminder that no hunting trophy is worth having to live with the consequences of killing a mate . ' The keen hunter , from Whakatane , has received stitches and was expecting to be discharged from hospital later on Monday . He has pledged to continue shooting - even with the friend who shot him . ' I love hunting , it 's in me blood . ' Mr Verschuuren ( pictured with a friend who did not shoot him ) is a keen hunter , telling Daily Mail Australia it 's 'in me blood ' Hospital stint : Local police have issued a warning to hunters , such as Max , to take appropriate safety measures .
GRAPHIC # ##S . Max Verschuuren , however , is lucky to be alive after friend mistook him for a deer . Grisly photographs show his gaping , bloody gunshot wound . His first mate believed his dim ##ple was the reflection of a deer 's skull . ' I said , ` ` f***en ' stop , that 's me ! '' '