HORSHAM Magistrate's Court has heard how a man was lucky not to kill his mate in an accidental shooting at a farm near Mt Arapiles last year.
The shooting occurred as a group of men sat around a fire after a day hunting at a farm near Mt Arapiles on July 13, 2011.
Callum Daniel Cameron, 21, of Natimuk ,pleaded guilty at court on Wednesday to having carried or used a category A or B long-arm firearm in an insecure and dangerous manner.
Cameron was not convicted of the offence but ordered to pay $500 to the court fund.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Kevin Taggert told the court that Cameron picked up the loaded 12-gauge shotgun from the passenger seat of a ute, when the firearm discharged.
Pellets hit Cameron's friend, who had been going to the toilet behind a tree, in the right side of the head.
Senior Constable Taggert said the victim, with blood on his face and his ears ringing, thought he had been hit in the head by a bottle.
"He went back and asked what had happened and his mates said they had heard a shotgun go off,'' he said.
The victim had the pellets removed from his head and face in hospital.
"He's very lucky he didn't lose an eye,'' Senior Constable Taggert said.
Magistrate Richard Pithouse said the man shot was very lucky he wasn't dead.
"I could be sitting in a different capacity, as a coroner not a magistrate, dealing with this,'' he said. "You don't store a gun with a cartridge in it. It's a bad habit to put a firearm away loaded.''
Mr Pithouse said people should triple check firearms when storing them. He said it was common for people to store firearms incorrectly.
"It's something that happens every Friday and Saturday night in the bush,'' he said. "A bunch of blokes sitting around drinking around the fire after coming back from a shoot.
"Never, ever, walk around with a firearm loaded and never have it pointed at anyone.''
Mr Pithouse said Cameron had failed miserably at doing a safety check.
"He's almost killed a bloke, he's come within an inch of penetrating the temple of one of his mates,'' he said. "He's just so lucky.
"I accept he's probably a good bloke and a good worker but he's had a momentary lapse in concentration.''
Defence lawyer Denis O'Brien said Cameron had not been drinking alcohol on the night the shooting occurred.
Mr O'Brien said the pellets had ricocheted off the ground and hit the victim.
"The victim was quite some distance away,'' Mr O'Brien said.
"It was a big mistake. He fully acknowledges the gun should never have been on the seat of the car, fully loaded.''
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