A man who died of a gunshot wound intended to take his own life, according to South Devon assistant coroner Andrew Cox.

Alan Frederick Hill, 76, of Mount Pleasant Close, Kingsbridge, died on June 7, 2017. A keen deer stalker, he had been out in the woods with his friend of more than 50 years David Holyoak in the morning, Plymouth Coroner’s Court was told today.

When Mr Holyoak returned home, Mr Hill remained at Storridge Wood Reserve, Woodleigh.

A few years before his death, Mr Hill had suffered a stroke, which had affected his memory, and he also had a crick in his neck that was causing him pain.

Mrs Hill said her husband had watched her father’s health deteriorate to the point he had to go into a care home, and he was a “very proud man”.

Mr Holyoak called Mr Hill “the safest, most thoughtful shot” he’d ever met and said his firearm handling was “impeccable”, to the point that he would train other people how to handle weapons.

He said his and Mr Hill’s passion was for deer culling and management, not “trophy hunting”.

This was echoed by Mrs Hill, who said that Mr Hill was “extremely knowledgeable” about firearms and deer culling and “very meticulous about safety” – a man who would “never take a shot unless it was completely safe”.

Mr Hill called his wife Jeanette to tell her he had written her a note and left it under a box of chocolates on the sideboard. By the time Mrs Hill, who has limited mobility, had reached the handwritten note, Mr Hill had hung up the phone.

She immediately rang Mr Holyoak, who called the police. Coincidentally, a police officer had spoken to Mr Hill minutes before his death.

DC Joanna Sargent of Ivybridge CID said that PC Josh Marshall, a wildlife officer, was on patrol in the area, and when he had spotted Mr Hill in camouflage clothing, he had gone to check what he was up to in the woods.

“PC Marshall went to have a chat with Mr Hill,” DC Sargent said. “He informed PC Marshall that he was a deer stalker but that he would not be shooting in the area that day. PC Marshall said Mr Hill seemed very knowledgeable and he didn’t see any weapons, so he was happy with the situation and returned to his car to complete a background check.”

It was when PC Marshall was in the car that he heard a gunshot. He waited in the car, expecting to see someone exit the woods, but when no one did, after a few minutes he went back to speak to Mr Hill again, which is when he found him on the ground.

He attempted CPR and was sure there was no one else in the area at the time. Police concluded that the phone call to his wife and the suicide note Mr Hill had left, added to the fact that scene of crime officers found no evidence of a third party, meant there were no suspicious circumstances and the case was handed to the coroner.

Mr Cox recorded a verdict of suicide and said the cause of death was bleeding from the carotid artery caused by a gunshot wound from a “long-barrelled, high-velocity rifle“.

He said he considered Mr Hill had seen his “boundaries closing in” and didn’t want to lose his passion, which was the outside world, and had chosen to take his own life.