Adjusting the Scope: Taylor Robinson has his sights set on the future

Words by Justin Hunter | Images by Ryan McGill 

Hunting runs in families like birthmarks and eye color, anchoring one’s heart to the beauty of Creation. Such is the case for Taylor Robinson, who embodies the bright future and rural traditions that make Walker County a great place to live and raise a family. 

Raised on 2,800 acres in rural Alabama, Robinson developed both a great work ethic and a love for the outdoors as a young boy. He graduated from Walker High School in 2008 and attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery, earning a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management in 2012. 

Before coming to work for his stepdad, Scott Crump, at Scott Crump Toyota, Robinson spent three years as a pharmaceutical sales rep for IHN Healthcare. He admits he was initially reluctant to get into the car business. 

“Scott kept asking me to come to Toyota and sell cars for him. I told him I don’t want to be your stereotypical car guy,” Taylor laughs. “But I gave it a shot.”

Seven years later, Robinson serves as Scott Crump Toyota’s finance manager and loves what he does. Every day comes with a new challenge, new things to learn, and new opportunities to serve his community. The business has also allowed him to provide for his family: his wife, Jenny, and their two little boys, Tripp and Cross. 

Though working at the dealership is fast-paced, Taylor claims his life is “simple and boring.” Take that with a grain of salt and scroll his Instagram page, which is filled with beautiful memories of diverse hunts that Robinson has participated in over the years. 

Many hunting stories have developed throughout the years, in particular the time he shot and killed his first doe at seven years old. “My dad, brother, and I were close to the cabins when the doe came out,” Taylor says. “I shot six times and ran out of ammo. All three of us ran back to the house to get more rounds, and when we got back to the cabin, the doe was still there. I didn’t hit the doe until the eighth shot. Looking back, I’m just astonished at how patient my dad was during the whole event.”

Robinson has been hunting for over 20 years now. On the first Sunday of deer season last October, he experienced every hunter’s dream of harvesting a massive buck by taking a six-year-old, 140-inch whitetail at Mercy Bridge Farms, located on those same 2,800 acres on the Fayette/Walker County line that his parents purchased before he was born. 

Taylor relates the story: “It was 80 degrees that Sunday afternoon, and I was sitting in my stand sweating when ‘Gramps’ came out of the clearing. I caught a glimpse of the horns, and I swore he looked right at me with a scowl. Those older deer aren’t stupid. I drew back, and the moment he stepped from behind the tree, I let my arrow fly. I knew it was a good shot when it hit him. I sat in that tree stand for about 30 minutes in shock.”

The photo of Robinson squatting over the aged buck, antlers in his hands, on the back of his Toyota pickup truck, went viral in hunting circles throughout Alabama, earning thousands of likes, hundreds of reshares, and a spot on the Alabama Sportsman Podcast. 

Taylor assures that ethical hunting is the highest priority. “If we choose to shoot an animal, then we are going to eat it, or we look to preserve,” he says. “My brother and I only shot one buck a year on our family’s land. That allows the herds to be healthier, and you’re able to get those big bucks. We don’t shoot to simply kill. Respecting what you hunt is something fundamental that my dad taught us growing up.”

Robinson also uses his knowledge of hunting and the outdoors to invest in the youth of Walker County. He takes youth groups and kids who weren’t raised in the outdoors on guided hunts. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, in 2005, less than 3 percent of boys and less than 1 percent of girls picked up the sport of hunting.  

“I’m a pay-it-forward kind of guy. Taking kids on these hunts is a way for me to give back,” Robinson says. “It’s something special to see a kid shoot a deer for the first time. I get more joy out of seeing someone else take their first turkey than I do killing it myself.”

Back at the dealership, he’s learned ethical standards as well. “If you know of the men who own a local dealership in town, you’ll know they are great Christian men, who love their families and are leaders in their local communities,” Robinson says. “I want to be like those men if God continues to keep me healthy and bless me. I want to be able to give back to Jasper and the broader Walker County community.” 78