It happened Saturday afternoon near the Berea Elementary School in Montgomery.
Authorities say David Calabrese, 9, was helping to drive out deer with his step-father, uncle and two other men when he took off his bright orange hat because he was hot.
Police say that is when one of the men, Douglas Cisco, 47, mistook David for a deer and shot him in the stomach.
"It was an accident. I was a few yards away and accidents happen. The man who did it is highly upset. He's been hunting all his life," said the victim's uncle, James Ronk.
Although wounded, the boy was able to walk 300 yards out of the woods.
He was airlifted to Westchester Medical Center for treatment and is expected to recover.
Cisco, of Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania, is charged with reckless endangerment in the first degree which is a class D felony.
Mr. Cisco was arraigned by Town of Montgomery Judge Gorss and was remanded to jail on $25,000 bail and $75,000 bond.
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