Emotional scenes at the sentencing for the man who fatally shot a 21-year-old during a hunting trip on Stewart Island last year

Paul Stevens has been sentenced to five months' home detention - for the death of Jock Davies - who was in a hunting party of nine when he died.

Stevens pleaded guilty to careless use of a firearm causing death - after firing at a dark shadowy image moving through dense bush without identifying the target.

Davies' family held eachother and wept as they described the lifelong impact of his death.

Stevens must also pay 20-thousand dollars emotional reparation - half going into a scholarship in Davies' name for West Otago tertiary students - and half into sponsoring young people through a deer stalkers safety course.