GRAPHIC CONTENT: When Joshua Small dared a gunman to shoot him he never thought he would pull the trigger.

Small was sitting down having a light-hearted phone call when the man confronted him with a .22 calibre pistol. The pair had argued about an hour earlier outside Small's friend's property in Christchurch.

The first he knew he had been shot was when his glasses blew off his face and blood poured from his face.

GEORGE HEARD/FAIRFAX NZ Joshua Small was shot in the eye on Tuesday morning.

Small says the dispute started when he was having a few drinks at his friend's house early Tuesday morning and he started an argument with a man who had come to visit the property.

"The argument was over nothing, I was drunk and I felt like picking a fight with someone."

About 45 minutes later, Small was sitting down "kicking back on the couch" talking to someone on his cellphone,when the man returned with a gun.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/FAIRFAX NZ A Caltex employee called an ambulance after Small walked into the service station with a gunshot wound.

"He goes, 'Do you want me to shoot you?' and I said, 'Yeah, if you're going to pull a gun on me you may as well shoot me you c....

"I've had that kind of stuff happen to me before where people pull a gun on me and they've never used it. I wasn't really that fazed by it."

Standing about 1.5 metres away from Small, the man then shot one round at the roof.

"I thought he was just playing around and then he pulled the gun on me and pulled the trigger. I didn't hear the shot, my glasses just blew off my face and there was blood pissing out everywhere."

Not wanting to get anyone at the house in trouble, Small then walked to the nearby Caltex service station on the corner of Blenheim Rd and Matipo St, Riccarton, about 5.10am.

The service station employee saw Small had a gunshot wound and called an ambulance.

Small was discharged from Christchurch Hospital on Tuesday afternoon.

"I feel lucky to be alive. I thought it was going to be the end, honestly. Everything is all good now. I don't need surgery, my eye is bunged up and black and it won't stop bleeding, but it's not too bad. It could have been worse.

"It's lucky the gun was of a small calibre because if it had of been any larger it would have taken my f..... head off."

Small, who said he had lived a "criminal life", did not want charges laid.

"That's just not me . . . it's not in my mind frame to rat someone out like that."

In a statement, police said they were working with the victim, to piece together exactly what had happened but believed it was an isolated incident.

"The unlawful use of firearms is of concern to police and enquiries into the matter are continuing.

Anyone with information should contact Detective Senior Sergeant Leairne Dow on (03) 363 7400 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.