A goose-hunter has escaped the jaws of a crocodile by poking it in the eyes before enjoying a can of beer to help numb the pain before help arrived.

Northern Territorian Stephen Moreen, 20, waded into the water to recover a goose he had shot when the crocodile latched onto his right arm.

"We were shooting geese, my cousin-brother told me go and get the duck there," Mr Moreen told the ABC .

"I just walked. I got the first goose. Then he grabbed my arm."

Mr Moreen said the crocodile did a "death roll" pulling him underwater.

"That's when I saw him and poked his eye. He let go," Mr Moreen said.

After running to shore, Mr Moreen's cousin-brother shot the crocodile and administered first aid in by handing his relative a can of Carlton Dry.

"When police and clinic staff arrived he was conveyed in a mildly intoxicated state to the clinic where his wounds were cleaned," Superintendent Louise Jorgensen told the NT News .