Hunters fired off their last shots Sunday, as the 2016 gun deer season came to an end.

Although the Wisconsin deer population may be high right now, you wouldn't know it from the harvest totals for the 2016 gun deer season.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ 2016 Wisconsin deer harvest summary, preliminary numbers show the number of deer harvested this year are down from 2015.

Preliminary numbers report only 140,638 deer were harvested across Wisconsin in 2016 as compared to 144,199 in 2015.

“I have not fired a shot yet this season,” said hunter Don Tumm of Fall Creek. “My son was lucky enough to bag one, but I have not fired a shot.”

But the DNR says population may not have been the issue.

“I know our license sales for the gun deer were down as well, that’s not unusual,” said Scott Thiede, DNR Conservation Warden. “There were fewer tags issued for antlerless tags this year, so antlerless numbers were down, but buck kill was up a bit from last year. So that’s good to see.”

Thiede says a reason the numbers may show a lower harvest number right now could also be due to hunters not registering their deer.

This year's new tagging rules could also have played a role.

Thiede says at the beginning of the gun deer hunt, they were having more problems with hunters not carrying around their carcass tags, but it got better as the season went on. One tip he gave for hunters was to carry their tags in a plastic bag with a writing utensil, so you can write down the date of harvest immediately as there are more opportunities for hunters to be in the woods this year.

Thiede adds this year's season was also one of the safest.

Last year there were five hunting-related fatalities in Wisconsin. This year, none were reported.

“Opening weekend there were three hunting incidents, but they were non-fatal,” Thiede said. “They were serious injuries, but they were non-fatal.”

The DNR confirmed Sunday five hunters were injured from firearms over the course of the 2016 9-day season with zero fatalities in Wisconsin.

So as many hunters put their guns away, and leave the woods empty handed, hunter Tumm says he's already looking forward to getting back to the woods for the next gun deer season.

“It’s always good to get out in the woods, and get out and get some fresh air and get a little exercise,” he said. “I enjoy the season when it comes that's for sure.”

Although the gun deer season may have wrapped up, Thiede is reminding folks hunting in general is not over.

The Muzzleloader deer season begins Monday, November 28th and continues until the 4-day statewide antlerless hunt which runs December 8-11.

The archery and crossbow deer season remains open through January 8th.