North East deer shooting death being treated as accident: police

A 37-year-old Yarragon man died after being shot by another member of his hunting party at Dandongadale River on Saturday morning.

The shooter, a 52-year-old Melbourne man, stayed with this wounded friend for several hours before he died.

The man was shot in the stomach after a hunting dog located a deer in the river.

"The other members of the party are assisting police to try to formulate exactly what occurred," Bright Senior Sergeant Doug Incoll said.

"It's a terrible event for the hunting community, a terrible tragedy.

"It's a sad reminder of the inherent danger involved in using firearms in the environment, and deer shooting in particular.

"Safety precautions need to be paramount with the use of any firearms."

The man was interviewed and released without charge pending further inquiries.

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The incident occurred in remote terrain with officers from search and rescue, homicide and crime scene services flown in.

Senior Sergeant Incoll said the group of shooters were experienced and had hunted in the area for many years.

He said the relative rarity of such incidents, considering the number of hunters in the North East, showed safety was at the forefront of most people's minds.

"This is a terrible reminder of the importance of safety, communication, target acquisition, and knowing the location of hunting group partners," Senior Sergeant Incoll said.

"There needs to be total awareness before the trigger is pulled."

Hunters are also urged to wear blaze orange clothes to ensure they're seen.

The shooting occurred about five kilometres south of McCready Track.

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