AUSTIN - Armed criminals should take notice.

Next time they try to mug someone, rob a convenience store or take a person's car at gunpoint, the would-be victim or victims also could be carrying a weapon.

A growing number of Texans have applied and are authorized to carry concealed guns, show Texas Department of Public Safety records.

Figures for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, which ended Aug. 31, have yet to be compiled, but at the end of calendar year 2009 the number of concealed handgun licenses increased 61.4 percent compared to the previous year, DPS reported.

"The demand for concealed handgun licenses remains high," agency spokesman Tom Vinger said. "For more than a year we've had extra personnel to handle the demand."

The percentage in the most populated counties in the Panhandle/South Plains region is slightly below the 61.4 percent increase in the state.

In Dawson, Hale and Hutchison counties, however, it was much higher, 138.5 percent, 80 percent and 72.4 percent respectively.

In the most populated counties in the region, Gray saw a 56.5 percent increase, Randall 56.3 percent, Lubbock 45.3 percent and Potter 27 percent.

State Rep. Joe Heflin, D-Crosbyton, whose largely rural, 16-county District 85 includes Hale County, said the sharp demand for concealed handgun licenses in the region and across the state doesn't surprise him.

"There is a big concern that the Second Amendment rights are going to be diluted," said Heflin, who is licensed and has been endorsed by the NRA. "That, plus the crime stories people hear or read about has triggered the high demand for concealed handgun licenses."

However, despite the sharp increase in demand for permits, Heflin and other lawmakers don't foresee a significant number of gun-related bills when the lawmakers are back in session next year.

"We're going to have our hands full with the budget shortfall, redistricting, school finance and other pressing issues," Heflin said. "Also, most of us in the Legislature feel that gun rights are well protected in Texas; that's why we haven't had too many gun bills in recent sessions."

In last year's session, a bill that would have allowed people with concealed weapon licenses to carry their firearms on college campuses never came up for a vote. However, in the 2007 session lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the Castle Doctrine bill, which gives people fearing for their safety the right to use deadly force against a would-be attacker at their home, business or car.

Mike Stollenwerk of Northern Virginia, director and co-founder of www.opencarry.org, which favors state laws permitting gun owners to carry their firearms in public view, said the percentage of licenses issued in Texas is well below Florida and Utah.

"I just think it is part of the trend that people want to exercise their Second Amendment right," Stollenwerk said. "It is part of our freedom and it's a personal choice in Texas and in the nation."

Marsha McCartney, president of the Dallas-based North Texas Chapter of the Brady Campaign, a nationwide organization that favors gun ownership restrictions, didn't return several calls for comment.

In previous interviews, McCartney and other gun control advocates have said they worry about the growing number of Texans getting concealed handgun licenses because they say it has the potential for more violent crime.

So far that hasn't been the case, according to some law enforcement agencies.

"I think years ago when the concealed handgun law was passed law enforcement agencies worried that this could lead to more violence, but it hasn't happened, at least in the Panhandle," said Amarillo Police Cpl. Jerry Neufeld.