They were right, Mr Verschuuren took a shot and a deer rolled down a bank, he said. But as he was scrambling to find it with a mate, it is believed he was mistaken for another deer by another member of the group.
"We were all amped we'd got a deer. I think there was a bit of buck fever going on," he told the Rotorua Daily Post.
The dry stock farmer from Dannevirke said the bank was rocky, and his mate with the brighter spotlight waited below. He had only a small headlamp and was dressed in green.
"I was trying to listen for directions. I'd pulled off my gumboots to get stones out when I felt a whack like hot metal rod on my back. I didn't believe it at first.
"It was a bang and straight away I could feel blood running down my back.
"I yelled out to stop shooting, that I had been shot. I fell down the hill to the river and got carried across, we got back to the ute and went back to the house, where we waited for police and an ambulance.
"I knew I had to stay calm otherwise I would go into shock and lose it."
He said he believed he came off lightly because he had bent down to his gumboots.
"It [the bullet] would have gone into my chest and gut otherwise and left a big hole. The doctors all say I'm a lucky man. So many people have told me to buy a Lotto ticket.
"It's not put me off hunting but the lesson I've learned is: if you go out with more than one person, only one person take a gun. You only ever have one person shooting at a time. And I'm sticking to high-vis gear. I don't care what anyone else says."
Mr Verschuuren said he had been hunting all his life. His dad is a firearms instructor in Waikato. "He's really cut up about it."
Mr Verschuuren was discharged from Whakatane Hospital yesterday.
The man who is alleged to have shot him "couldn't believe what had happened", Mr Verschuuren said.
"I'd rather be at this end than what he's going through," Mr Verschuuren said.
Police are investigating the incident. "The roar is by no means over," said Rotorua area Search and Rescue co-ordinator Detective Sergeant John Wilson.
"Let's abide by the rules around the safe use of firearms and get through this year with no fatalities."
The Seven Rules of the Firearms Code
Rule 1: Treat every firearm as loaded.
Rule 2: Always point firearms in a safe direction.
Rule 3: Load a firearm only when ready to fire.
Rule 4: Identify your target beyond all doubt.
Rule 5: Check your firing zone.
Rule 6: Store firearms and ammunition safely.
Rule 7: Avoid alcohol and drugs when handling firearms.