Instead, he says the gun went off in his hands while he looked it over and tried to light a cigarette, killing his daughter Amokura Daniels-Sanft.
Gustav Otto Sanft has denied a charge of the manslaughter of his daughter and is on trial at the High Court in Auckland.
The Crown argues Mr Sanft pointed the loaded shotgun at the child as she misbehaved on a sofa outside their Mangere home in June last year.
RNZ reports Mr Sanft's lawyers say the gun went off accidentally.
