CAPITAL REGION — Though their numbers are dwindling, big game hunters in New York found increased success in the 2007 deer and bear hunting seasons, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Hunters killed about 220,000 deer this past season, marking a 16 percent increase over the year before, according to figures released by the DEC on Tuesday.

The number of bears killed increased even more significantly, with 1,117 black bears being taken compared to 796 in 2006, or about 40 percent more, according to the DEC.

The fact that there were fewer hunters yet more bear and deer taken reflects growing numbers of popular game species, DEC spokesman Yancey Roy said Tuesday.

“There’s more deer and more bear out there; both populations are growing,” Roy said.

During the 2002-03 season, there were 558,295 state residents with big game hunting licenses and 41,459 nonresidents with big game licenses for use in New York, according to DEC figures.

This year, resident big game hunters were at 513,864, a reduction of more than 40,000 hunters, according to DEC figures. The number of nonresident hunters also declined by more than 7,000 compared with five years ago, with 34,376 nonresidents buying a big game hunting license.

Deer numbers aren’t tabulated by county, but some local wildlife management units saw increases in male deer killed during the 2007 season, according to the DEC.

In the 4H region, which includes parts of Schenectady and Montgomery counties, there were a total of 1,083 bucks taken compared with 1,027 the year before, according to DEC.

Capital Region bear hunters found the greatest success in Fulton County during the 2007 season, with a total of 27 bears killed.

There were 17 bears killed in Schoharie County, 12 in Saratoga County and six in Albany County, according to DEC figures.

The overall number of deer taken statewide doesn’t necessarily mean everybody found more deer because of where deer happen to be located in any given season, according to the DEC press release.

For example, during this past season the number of deer killed compared to the number projected actually went down in 48 percent of the state’s 92 wildlife management units, while 29 percent were above what was expected, according to DEC.

Long-time hunter John Barlow, owner of Barlow’s Sporting Goods in Warnerville, Schoharie County, said he heard mixed results from hunters this year.

“I noticed around here, talking with individuals, the deer were very sparse. There seemed to be a good population in certain localities, but generally speaking, there weren’t that many,” Barlow said.

Barlow said the fact that there are fewer hunters yet more deer and bear being taken may reflect the use of rifles, which the state allowed hunters to use in some areas of the state previously restricted to shotgun use.

Barlow said the gear is constantly being improved as well.

“The equipment nowadays is much better than it was 30 years ago or 40 yeas ago, there’s no question about that,” Barlow said.

The DEC also reported there were five shooting-related deaths this past season, with 14 hunting-related shooting incidents.

Last year, the DEC reported one hunter death and 35 hunting-related shooting accidents.