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 couldn'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 IMAGE WARNING .
Max Verschuuren, 21, is lucky to be alive after friend mistook him for a deer .
Grisly photographs show his gaping, bloody gunshot wound .
His hunting mate believed his dim headlight was the glint of a deer's eyes .
'I said, "f***en' stop, that's me!"'