A man who had gone hunting with his friends overnight this weekend had been accidentally shot in a fatal error.

Police told New Zealand Herald a group of six friends went overnight camping Saturday night in a remote farmland in the Cattleflat area in Southland. The ill-fated shot happened early Sunday morning.

Senior Sergeant Richard McPhail said the victim died instantly after he was shot with a hunting rifle, which was fired by another man in the group.

"The deceased male was walking on a hillside attempting to locate a second deer after one had been initially shot and located by the group," Mr McPhail told the Herald.

Emergency services received a call regarding the incident at about 4am Sunday.

The fatal error leading to a friend's death while hunting is the second tragic incident in April alone. Cameron McDonald was fatally shot in the head while hunting with his bestfriend in the south Wairarapa bush early this month. Police has yet to complete their investigation regarding this incident.

APNZ reported that in December last year, Wanaka man Reuben Kenneth James Burke had also fatally shot his best friend, Dougal Disston Stanfield Fyfe, when he mistook him for a deer while hunting. Burke is expected to be sentenced next month.

APNZ spoke to Deerstalkers' Association president Tim McCarthy to solicit advice for hunters with regards to the shooting tragedies.

"(A)lways assume that it's a human being that you hear or see because identification is everything when it comes to hunting," McCarthy said.