I think you can make a difference, but from what you describe it would be very hard to do in your locale. When I first heard about your plan, I was not sure you (one person) would be able to make a significant impact because of a)hunting area size and b) total population you described. I based that judgement on what I have seen, namely deer moving fluidly in response to hunting pressure, food sources, etc. You can temporaraly lower the population of course, but I have seen at the end of a season, on a small or medium size property that gets hammered by hunters (while neigboring properties do not) the deer just move over into the vacant ground after the season. When the ratios are that far out of wack, I thought it would be like trying to make a hole in a puddle of water by sticking your finger in it. As soon as you remove it, its gone.

However, the more time I thought about the less sure I am. There are less deer in your woods now than there would have been. Your numbers dont lie obviously. I am curious how your sightings change over the summer and next year...