Connor Brian Phillips, 11, died on October 11, 2015, after he was shot in the Kaingaroa Forest.

A man who accidentally shot and killed his grandson says he was already serving a life sentence before he was convicted in the Taupo District Court.

"I wish it was me," Brian Phillips said in a statement read to the court on Tuesday morning.

"I was meant to go before my grandchildren. It is a heavy burden I carry every day. It is a life sentence."

Judge Tony Snell convicted and sentenced the 67-year-old Reporoa resident to four months' community detention.

He previously pleaded guilty to careless use of a firearm causing the death of his grandson Connor Phillips in a hunting incident in the Kaingaroa Forest, near Taupo, earlier this year.

Connor, 11, was one of four brothers and one of Phillips' 10 grandchildren.

Connor had gone with the group of adults and other youngsters for a hunt in a remote part of the Kaingaroa Forest - less than 20km from his home in the small settlement of Reporoa, on October 11.

It was the last day of school holidays and as the hunt came to an end, Phillips was unloading a firearm when the gun went off, according to police.

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Emergency services rushed to the scene off Western Boundary Rd, but it was too late and Connor died at the scene.

Phillips' lawyer, Denise Johnston, applied for a discharge without conviction for her client.

But Judge Snell "wasn't satisfied that the direct and indirect consequence outweighed all proportion to the gravity of the offence", Johnston said.

"The offending falls in the lower middle range ... the key rule of using firearms is they must always be pointed in a safe direction. With five children in the area, extra care should have been taken."

He convicted and sentenced Phillips to four months' community detention.

In an affidavit read by Johnston in court, Phillips said "no punishment could measure to the grief and guilt I impose on myself every day".

Phillips was struggling to live with what had happened to such an "awesome" young boy.

"He had a great future ahead of him ... He was a junior hunter following in my steps and would have taken over leading the pack."

Connor's parents, Justin and Olivia Phillips, were not present at the sentencing but in a statement read in court said they had forgiven Phillips.

"Brian is a kind, caring grandfather, father, father-in-law and brother who always put others first, especially his pride and joy - his 10 grandchildren."

Connor's mother said afterwards that her there was nothing she could say to bring him back and she did not want to comment further.