Hunters had watched 155-inch buck grow up on trail cam photos.
Lexington County native Brandon Umbarger blasted a huge trophy buck just before dark on Sept. 16, and it turned out to be the very deer he and a cousin had been watching grow up for several years.
“Primo,” as the deer was dubbed, eluded Umbarger and cousin Jonathan Gunter after they began a trophy management program on their 700-acre family farm a little over six years ago. But, the 10 acres of lush soybeans this hunting pair cultivated was just too tasty for this giant that green scored 155 Boone & Crockett.
“We plant a lot of food plots and really make an effort to produce some quality deer,” said Umbarger, who goes by “southernstyletile” on the SouthCarolinaSportsman.com reports forum. “Our food plots are planted in soybeans, rape, clover and turnips. Deer just absolutely love the 2,000 pounds of soybeans we planted for them this year.”
More photos of the trophy, including trail-cam images of Primo on the hoof, can be seen on Umbarger’s profile page.
Light hunting pressure, very selective harvests, and premier food plots packed with protein and carbohydrates comprise their management efforts on their Lexington County farm.
Throughout the summer and up until the last few weeks before the season debut, Gunter and Umbarger captured “Primo” on several occasions on trail cameras munching on soybeans. Since this clever trophy stonewalled these two blood-thirsty hunters over the last two hunting seasons, the duo decided to use a different strategy this year to get this deer into range.
“We pulled the trail cameras out of the woods and left these fields Primo was using alone to eliminate human scent and repeated disturbance,” Umbarger explained.
As the season came in, Umbarger could not wait to set up on the lush soybean field in hopes of seeing his nemesis while he had rifle in hand. But, he continued to wait it out until the right wind conditions were met.
Umbarger is in his 11th deer season, and his trophy to that point was a 3-point killed several years ago. So, Primo was a real trophy buck anybody would like to take down, the thought of shooting the animal was eating away at Umbarger’s nerves each day the wind continued to blow the wrong direction.
But the hunter was determined to get a chance at this huge buck and kept on waiting for conditions to improve.
On Sept. 16, his prayers were answered. A cool front came through dropping the temperatures into the low 50s the night before, and Umbarger finally got the wind he had longed for since the opening of deer season.
“We finally got the perfect wind and some cool weather. It was blowing from the food plot into my face and across Interstate 20,” he explained. “I was hoping this giant was still around and was still in the mood for my 10 acres of soybeans.”
Umbarger slipped into his stand at 6:30 that the evening, and watched over his field with rifle ready. At 7:30 p.m. a nice 6-point buck busted into the field and started devouring soybeans.
Umbarger decided to pass on this buck, patiently waiting in hopes that Primos would appear.
A few minutes later, he noticed the 6-pointer was peering back into the swamp and began to act frisky.
Suddenly, Umbarger saw movement and Primo came wandering through the knee-high greenery with his head buried in the soybean crop.
At 60 yards, the massive buck stood broad side munching away at the tender foliage, just long enough for Umbarger to aim and fire a shot from his Browning .270.
“At the crack of the rifle, his hind end and limbs dropped, shoulders followed, and head buckled back as he crumbed to the ground,” Umbarger said.
The adrenaline-filled hunter quickly climbed out of his stand and walked to get a closer look, stopping just a few yards from the animal that lay motionless in the soybean field.
Umbarger began to shake. But he wanted Gunter to see Primo up close and personal, so he left the deer and rushed back to the truck, hailing his cousin on the phone to come over as fast as he could to take a look at his prize.
As Gunter arrived, the duo motored into the food plot and headed toward the last place Umbarger had left his deer.
“It was dark at this point, and we spotted a buck standing at the corner of the field,” Umbarger said. “I couldn’t believe it, but it was Primo standing there, and then the buck ran off into the woods.
“My heart fell.”
His excitement quickly turned into dismay, and he began to wonder how he could have left that deer in the field without making sure it was dead first.
The duo called on a few of their friends and began to track the deer into the night. After several hours, the blood trail ended and Primo had, once again, eluded the hunters.
“I was sick, and the nightmare began,” Umbarger said. “The deer we had longed for got away, and I just could not figure out what happened and why we couldn’t find this deer.
“I knew I hit him hard, and I kept on hoping he would turn up.”
After several days of looking and even trailing with a bluetick hound, the trail grew cold once again and Umbarger worst nightmare continued. But he was determined and kept up the search every free minute he had over the next few days.
Finally, with the help of 90-degree days and a flock of turkey vultures, Umberger found his trophy lying in a cattle holler on Sept. 20.
While the Lexington County giant was reeking of decay, Umbarger estimates the buck to have weighed between 200 and 220 pounds.
“I almost fell out when I saw him,” Umbarger said. “It’s a dream come true.”
Sporting a 19 1/2-inch inside spread and a 12 1/2-inch G2 on his right side, the buck was green scored by Umbarger’s taxidermist at 155 inches.
Don’t forget to sumbit photos of bucks you kill to the Bag-a-Buck Contest. See the full Bag-a-Buck photo gallery to keep up with all the bucks being killed this season!
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