Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
It started with a climb, 2x4 steps nailed into a white oak on the family farm in Kentucky. At just four years old, Jed sat bundled in blankets beside his father, watching the woods in silence as the November rut unfolded around them. He didn’t carry a rifle that day. “My Dad was there with me, wrapping me in thick blankets to keep the chilly November nip at bay,” he remembers. “He was hoping to catch a big buck cruising.”
That old stand is gone now, long reclaimed by nature, but the oak still stands—and so does the memory. “I do know for certain my young life changed forever that frosty day,” Jed says. “I have hunted every year since.”
Read the full story here: benchmade.com/blogs/beyond-the-bench/whitetail-hunting-stories-jed-conklin
It started with a climb, 2x4 steps nailed into a white oak on the family farm in Kentucky. At just four years old, Jed sat bundled in blankets beside his father, watching the woods in silence as the November rut unfolded around them. He didn’t carry a rifle that day. “My Dad was there with me, wrapping me in thick blankets to keep the chilly November nip at bay,” he remembers. “He was hoping to catch a big buck cruising.”
That old stand is gone now, long reclaimed by nature, but the oak still stands—and so does the memory. “I do know for certain my young life changed forever that frosty day,” Jed says. “I have hunted every year since.”
Read the full story here: benchmade.com/blogs/beyond-the-bench/whitetail-hunting-stories-jed-conklin
