Catherine Gaye Currey stood before magistrate Peter Dare SC on January 5, pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm by negligent act.

Canberra solicitor Andrew Fraser told the court his 50-year-old client had “undoubted” remorse and that she was of good character with a good record.

Mr Dare acknowledged that Currey had never been in trouble with the law before.

“It’s an accident there’s no doubt about that... the police do say there is a degree of negligence there,” he said.

“How careful one must be - even the most experienced of us - how careful we must be when handling firearms.

“I can see she is devastated by what could have happened...and I accept she is thoroughly remorseful.”

Mr Dare decided not to penalise Currey on the grounds she entered into a 12 month good behaviour bond.

According to police facts tendered in court, on May 16 last year Currey, the victim and a witness went shooting feral pigs on a property on Nanangroe Road at Berremangra.

The victim was seated in the front passenger seat of the car using the spotlight when the trio stopped in a gully about 8.10pm.

Currey - who holds a current firearms licence - was safely shooting with her registered .308 Ruger Scout bolt action rifle from outside the car, alongside the witness.

Currey held her rifle - still loaded and the safety mechanism off - in her right outstretched hand with her finger on the trigger as she climbed back into the rear seat behind the victim.

The rifle discharged and the .308 round travelled through the front passenger seat, hitting the victim in the lower right side of his back.

Currey and the witness immediately rendered first aid and attempted to contact emergency services, but failed due to poor phone reception.

They travelled back to the cabin on the property to call Triple Zero, where arrangements were made to meet paramedics on Childowla Road, about 10 kilometres away.

Ambulance transported the victim to Bookham Oval before he was airlifted by helicopter to Canberra Hospital in a critical condition.

Police investigators spoke with Currey where she admitted to accidentally discharging the rifle.

She believed the rifle may have got caught in the back seat cover, saying she was unsure exactly how she managed to discharge the firearm.

Currey told police it wasn’t her usual practice to enter a car while her firearm was loaded and thought the safety switch was on.

The victim underwent surgery for the wound that was heavily contaminated with foreign material from the car seat and shrapnel.

He had numerous more surgeries to further debride the wound and plastic surgery to help with wound closure.