James Dodds' death - Plea to change rules

Gabrielle Molloy, the partner of hunting shooting victim James Dodds, says the only way hunters will stop shooting their companions is by stopping them from splitting up.

She made the call at the coroner's inquest into the death of Mr Dodds heard before Wallace Bain yesterday.

Mr Dodds was killed on September 7, 2012 when his friend Henry Robert Worsp had mistaken him for a deer in the Paeroa Ranges.

On January 10 Worsp, an outdoor safety expert, was convicted of careless use of a firearm causing Mr Dodds' death.

Three witnesses were called during the inquest including the officer in charge of search and rescue Detective Sergeant John Wilson, Worsp and manager of licensing and vetting service centre the New Zealand police, Inspector Joseph Michael Green.

Ms Molloy spoke after witnesses.

At the inquest Dr Bain was told how Worsp shot Mr Dodds when they became separated while hunting fallow deer, which are smaller than red deer and can be white, light brown or almost black. Ms Molloy recommended rules around not being able to shoot when separated from hunting companions be included in the Arms Code.

Mr Wilson told the court Worsp was convinced Mr Dodds was behind him.

He then saw what he believed was a fallow stag. Worsp tried to confirm it was a stag by moving off track to get a clearer view and looking through his rifle telescope.

He was confident he could see antlers, the deer lower its head out of view and the deer's back and shoulder. Worsp then took his shot.

What he was actually watching was Mr Dodds.

Mr Wilson said Worsp could've mistaken Mr Dodds for the stag because of a homemade backpack he was wearing and the colour of his hair.

He said when Worsp realised he had shot his friend he immediately rendered first aid, marked the location and called emergency services.

During the inquest, Worsp held back tears as he gave evidence about the day he "shot and killed my friend James Dodds".

He couldn't explain how he had mistaken his friend for a deer.

"I could see a deer ... I could see its back and I could see it moving and I was very certain it was a deer," Worsp said.

"That wasn't enough for me to shoot.

"I can't understand it or explain it."

He said he knew he didn't accurately identify his target, which was one of his biggest regrets. The other was splitting up with Mr Dodds.

He told the court he had considered himself to be a safe hunter and knew the risks of shooting another person.

"I was well aware of the risk of shooting another person but I can't say I ever expected it would happen to me.

"The obvious mistake I made was not identifying my target. I thought I took long enough in the circumstances and believed 100 per cent that I was looking at a deer," Worsp said.

He urged hunters to not split up with their hunting companions.

Mr Green said safety issues relating to this case included when hunting with someone they should stop until visual contact was confirmed, didn't shoot when others were in the firing zone and when hunting with a companion in parallel to keep sight of each other.

Ms Molloy told Dr Bain the incident was the most "horrific" thing she had gone through in her life and she had talked with Worsp many times about what had happened.

She said the only way hunters would stop mistakenly shooting their companions was if they stopped splitting up.

Ms Molloy, who is studying for her firearms licence, said she wanted the Arms Code to include rules around not being able to shoot if split from a hunting companion.

Dr Bain reserved his decision.