Former Soil Conservation Service employee and longtime writer Mat Taylor offers his outdoors column for Dispatch Record readers. He can be contacted at (254) 518-2262 or via e-mail at mntaylor@agristar. net. Deer season is over -- except for those ranches that have Managed Land Deer Permits -- and the late youth-only season is Jan. 17-18. It's too early to get any official reports on the season.

In a recent column, I mentioned the arrest of six Central Texas men for allegedly trapping and transporting deer. I noted that many so-called hunters are willing to pay huge sums to kill a trophy whitetail buck. I also expressed my opinion that the growing number of deerbreeding facilities in the state degrades the hunting tradition.

Let me clarify, however, that it is legal in Texas to establish a deerbreeding facility with the proper permits and supervision of Texas Parks and Wildlife. Also, any deer kept in a facility must have come from another licensed facility, and no wild deer may be trapped and confined in a deer pen.

I am a strong believer in private property rights, and a landowner should be able to use his property any way he wants as long as it is legal and does not hurt the natural resources of the land.

A lot of money can be made from selling trophy whitetail bucks from breeding pens. Although I would not do it, I really can't fault the owner of a facility for selling these deer to the highest bidder, and as long as people are willing to pay large sums, the practice will continue.

I recently heard from a secondhand source about a Texas landowner who had a 200-acre pasture with a high fence. The deer inside the fence were fed a high-protein ration year round. The owner had a buck that would score almost 200 Boone and Crockett points.

According to the story, a wealthy person from another state flew to the nearest airport, rented a car and drove to the ranch.

The owner had set up a blind near the feeder where the buck would come to eat. The hunter was placed in the blind and in a short time the buck appeared and was shot. The rich man then got in his car, drove back to the airport and returned home the same day -- after giving instructions to have the buck mounted and shipped to his home. Reportedly, the buck sold for more than $20,000.

How many hunters can pay money like that to shoot a deer? That is a concern as the price to lease a ranch or a guided hunt increases every year. Would you like to kill a trophy buck that would score more than 150 Boone and Crockett points? All you have to do is spend $ 1 0 , 0 0 0 - $20,000 for it.

Many ranchers even guarantee you will kill a trophy buck and go to the point of raising the buck in a small pen.

Of course, probably 95 percent of hunters cannot pay these high prices. Hunters are being priced out of the market now. A normal South Texas deer lease is out of the reach of most hunters, and Hill Country leases also are increasing every year. Even ranches in Texas not known for good deer hunting are charging a hefty fee for hunting rights.

I don't blame a rancher for charging whatever someone is willing to pay. Deer and other hunting leases can make up a large percentage of a rancher's income and have enabled more families to stay on their land.

On the downside, as lease prices increase, fewer and fewer hunters participate in the sport. Fewer hunters mean a reduction in hunting license sales, with fewer funds for wildlife management through TPWD.

Also, as hunter numbers decrease, they will lose political clout and at some point, non-hunters may be able to restrict through legislation many types of hunting.

I do not want to paint a gloomand doom picture on the future of hunting, however I do have concerns. One way to overcome this is to get young people involved in the sport. I recently let my 10-year-old grand-nephew hunt from my deer blind, and he shot a doe.

His father gave him a new singleshot .243 deer rifle for Christmas, and it was a great experience for him. Even though he is only 10, he already has said that when he is grown, he wants to get a ranch so he can manage the deer herd.

One of my former deer lease members recently passed away. George Byars Jr. was a teacher, school administrator, Blanco County commissioner and county judge. We hunted together on the Shannon Ranch in Crockett County for six years.

Of the five original members of the lease, only two of us are left. George's younger brother also was on the lease, and he passed away several months ago. They were both dedicated hunters, and I miss the times we spent together hunting and visiting.