Using guns while drinking was a recipe for disaster, a judge said yesterday when sentencing two men on a charge arising from an incident in which a man almost lost his arm.
The man, Daniel James Parker (23), was one of a group of friends drinking and duck-shooting at Paerau on the opening weekend of the duck-shooting season.
He also appeared in the Alexandra District Court yesterday and admitted a charge of possessing a firearm while his firearms licence was revoked.
Former All Black Andrew Keith Hore (36), of Patearoa, is the fourth person charged in connection with the incident, charged with supplying a shotgun to an unlicensed person - Parker.
Hore has received a registrar's adjournment to appear in the Alexandra court on August 17.
Clinton Michael Gallagher (25) and Carn Riki Fraser Parata (25), both of Ranfurly, pleaded guilty yesterday to a joint charge of possessing an Armi Bettinsoli double-barrel shotgun without a licence, on May 2, and were each fined $500, with court costs $130.
''This was downright stupidity on your part,'' Judge Dominic Flatley told Gallagher and Parata.
Using guns after they had been drinking was a recipe for disaster, he said.
Prosecutor Sergeant Ian Collin said Parker, Gallagher and Parata were among friends duck-shooting that day.
They were drinking beer and visiting several ponds.
Parker's gun licence was revoked in November 2012.
Later in the day, while travelling to a pond in an all-terrain vehicle, one of the guns fell out of the vehicle and went off, injuring Parker's right arm.
Counsel Tim Cadogan said Parker spent 10 days in hospital, had two operations and faced another one and ''came within a whisker of losing his arm.''
''Or his life,'' Judge Flatley said.
Parker, a machine operator of Ranfurly, was convicted and remanded to August 17 for sentencing.
Counsel for Gallagher, Russell Checketts, said the later ''drama'' was unrelated to his client's offence.
Gallagher had been using a firearm but there was nothing unsafe about his use of the gun and he had been supervised by a firearms licence-holder, with the exception of one time when the person was about 300m away.
Mr Cadogan also appeared for Parata and said it was a ''technical breach'' when the supervising firearms licence holder moved away.
The injury was unconnected and happened eight hours later, he said.
