A picture taken months before her death reveals Reeva Steenkamp firing a gun that resembles the one that her boyfriend Olympic sprinter, Oscar Pistorius, used to shoot her on Valentine's Day.

Steenkamp, 29, shared the photo in July on her Instagram account showing her in a white top, jeans and ear protectors as she concentrates to fire her weapon.

The picture was taken while the model was visiting a shooting range with friends in South Africa.

She included a short memo, "Shooting Games this morning! I feel less stressed now :)"

The 9mm handgun she is seen holding with both her hands appears to be eerily similar to the one sized by South African police after Pistorius used it to shoot her in his Pretoria home.

Pistorius claimed that she mistook Steenkamp as an intruder and shot her three times through the bathroom door.

A source close to the investigation said, "It's unsettling that these pictures should surface," according to The Sun.

"It shows she was used to handling guns herself and would not have felt uncomfortable having a boyfriend who kept one by his bed. Guns are part of everyday life here but you can forget just how dangerous they are."

A Steenkamp family spokesman said last night "I'm not aware Reeva knew how to use a handgun - her dad never taught her to use one."

Pistorius is currently out on bail waiting for trial and faces life sentence if convicted of the crime.