After a brief hunting trip back to the family farm I came to a disturbing realization of what hunting may come to within the next 10-20 years, and it sad to say but I have no idea on what can be done about it. After spending my whole thanksgiving break bowhunting the area of western kansas and seeing more deer than I ever have, my dad and I planned a trip out there being as he had a tag legal for the firearms season. After trying to put a couple stalks on a muley, we met my cousins and uncle up on the road in search of a deer. While in conversation I hear of many bucks taken a couple days before on opening day, some paying over $6000 per deer on an adjacent property at a local outfitter. Yet that isn't it these hunters go on to tell that they don't think the price is high enough for that caliber of deer.

This all led to finding out that land is getting leased up all over the place, people who put their acreage into CRP (the crop reduction program) are finding out how much more they can get paid by leasing their land out to outfitting instead of gettin paid by the gov't to put their land into crp for public hunting. Within the next few years the Walk-in hunting areas that I grew up hunting and have for over 12 years are now dwindling down. So what an upper-class business man can come unload his billfold, sit in a nice and cozy box blind and pick out a trophy buck within the bunch of deer? Now where does that leave the common hunter?

Sorry for the long rant, but the sport of hunting is going into the wrong direction as a whole. Ill tell you one thing is that Kansas is all that it is cracked up to be, but who knows ifthere will even be a place for me or any other common person to hunt. Granted I will alway be able to access the family farm, it isnt the point. What is going to happen to the ones that won't dish out 6 grand for a deer? I know Im almost being over dramatic, I wish I wasn't. This has happened to the land my dad grew up hunting as a kid chasing big bucks with a bow, now access to this land is almost impossible. Imnot here to give you my sob story, I just would like to share with you what this commercialized hunting can turn out to be.