Man stable after bolt gun attack in NSW

A man shot with a bolt gun in rural NSW remains in hospital in a stable condition with two fractured vertebrae.

Stephen Orr, 55, was arrested in Singleton in the Hunter region after allegedly shooting the 67-year-old victim with the bolt gun, which is normally used to stun animals before they are slaughtered.

Orr and the victim first met online before meeting up in a car park outside a pub in Pokolbin at midday on Sunday.

The pair then went to a home on Wollombi Road at Paynes Crossing - some 50 kilometres away - where the 67-year-old was assaulted with the bolt gun, police said in a statement on Monday.

The older man was also threatened with a firearm and the pair had an "altercation" before the victim fled and flagged down a passing motorist.

He was taken to Cessnock Hospital and then transferred to John Hunter Hospital with two fractured vertebrae and a laceration to his neck.

He was in a stable condition, a hospital spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

Orr was arrested at a Singleton home and charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

He will face Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday.