It was a record year for hunting deer on the Vineyard. A preliminary total of 855 deer were harvested this past year by hunters from October through December, which is considerably larger than the 570 that were harvested last year in the county and the highest total in at least several years.

Hunting season began on Oct. 17 with the six-week archery period and ran through Nov. 26. There were a total of 215 deer taken by archers on the Island, according to Steve Purcell of Larry’s Tackle Shop. Mr. Purcell ran the principal check-in station during that time, though there were as many as 20 checked in by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

The two-week shotgun season ran from Nov. 28 through Dec. 10. A total of 445 deer were taken. An additional 89 were counted by the tribe.

During primitive firearm season, which ran for two weeks, from Dec. 12 to Dec. 31, the total number of deer taken was 77. The tribe counted 29.

The 855 total is a number established by Mr. Purcell, based on his own efforts to collect numbers from the tribe, the state environmental police along with his own counts.

The state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has yet to release final numbers for the Vineyard. Trina L. Monuzzi, wildlife biologist for the state, confirmed the numbers look big.

As of Jan. 6, the state total for the Vineyard was 554, without counting the primitive firearm harvest numbers.

Record keepers have to go back to 2008 to find a comparable deer season. State records show that 696 deer were taken that year. The total in 2009 was 628.