A hunter who shot and killed an elk while on a trip near Oregon’s Maury Mountains has been impaled by the animal’s antlers as he attempted to drag it back to his camp.

Gary Heeter, 69, from Bend, Oregon, was hunting with a group on Saturday morning when he killed the elk.

Mr Heeter attached the elk to his four-wheeler and began driving back to the camp. But when he encountered a steep hillside his vehicle flipped upwards and the hunter was sent backwards onto the animal, becoming impaled in the back, The Oregonian reported.

The group Mr Heeter had been hunting with performed first aid on him to control the bleeding, while first responders from the Crook County Fire and Medical department also attended the man.

"When the deputy arrived at the crash scene […] he found Heeter was conscious and communicative, but appeared to be going into shock,” a spokesperson from the Crook County Sheriff’s office said.

A Life Flight helicopter was sent to area but was unable to find somewhere to land safely straightaway due to the rocky clearings and wooded areas, Sergeant Ryan Seaney of the office said, according to KVAL.com.