A man accidentally shot himself in the chest with a crossbow while he was hunting with a group of people in the Marlborough Forest on Sunday night, according to Ottawa paramedics.

It happened at about 6 p.m. Sunday in the woods near Dwyer Hill Road and Roger Stevens Drive, north of Merrickville, Ont., and south of Richmond, Ont.

The 45-year-old man was trying to disarm the crossbow after a day of deer hunting when he accidentally shot himself, paramedics said.

His friends helped him to the road and were met there by an ambulance, paramedics said.

He was taken to hospital where he was listed in serious but stable condition.