According to Massachusetts wildlife officials, about 190 deer were checked in at the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest check in station during the first week of deer shotgun season this year. While state biologists are still tabulating preliminary deer harvest numbers, including online reporting, deer project manager David Stainbrook estimated a harvest somewhat lower than last year, which saw a record number of deer taken on Martha’s Vineyard by all methods.

“What came in to our check station during the first week appears to be similar to what came in during the past few years, but that is only one week’s worth of data,” Mr. Stainbrook said. “What has been reported online so far seems consistent with previous years. We will see what the total ends up being at the end of the season, but it will be tough to beat last year’s record number of 844 deer. It will probably end up being in the 700 to 800 range.”

Bret Stearns, natural resources director for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, Aquinnah, is also still tabulating numbers of deer harvested and reported at the tribe’s deer check-in station, but he said anecdotally, it felt like a typical year.

“It was a normal season for us,” Mr. Stearns said. “It seemed about average. We have the same groups coming to us year after year, they all seem to have a level of success.”

Mr. Stearns said he noted no abnormality in the health of deer checked in up-Island, but did notice the age range of the deer taken was different this year.

“We did more adult than really small animals this year,” Mr. Stearns said. “This year it was a wide variety, and we had more 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 year old animals.”

Mr. Stearns added that there were plenty of deer to be seen this fall, judging by the number of vehicle accidents involving deer, and the number of near-misses reported by drivers.

“When you drive up-Island you get the feeling like there was no hunting season,” said Mr. Stearns. “Still a lot of deer around. They won’t be quite so active, they’ll go back to the woods soon enough, but people say they’re still seeing a lot of animals.”

Mr. Stainbrook will be keeping a close eye on the number of female deer taken this season, a crucial factor in managing the deer population.

“The most important thing for Zone 13 [Martha’s Vineyard] is to keep the female harvest high so we can continue to reduce population growth,” Mr. Stainbrook said. Last year 457 male deer were harvested on the Island, while 387 female deer were taken.

He said one of the largest obstacles to reducing the deer herd, which is estimated to be about 50 per square mile on the Island, are private lands where hunting is not allowed, and the large developed areas where it is illegal to discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling in use.

“One of the biggest hurdles for our ability to lower deer numbers at a finer scale are the large sections of lands closed to hunting, either closed by the landowners or locked up in discharge setbacks,” Mr. Stainbrook said. “Given that deer have small home ranges of less than a square mile on the Island, these closed areas can hold deer and allow deer numbers to keep getting higher each year in and around those areas.”

While the shotgun season ended Dec. 8, deer can still be taken with primitive or “black powder” firearms. The primitive firearm season opened Dec. 10, and continues through Dec. 31.