This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase through one of these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn More
Some hunts start with a well-worn trail and a lucky wind. Others start with an instinct, a pull from the past that’s hard to put into words. For Jake Combs, it began with a call from his uncle years ago and a bow passed down before one final goodbye.
The bow was a Mathews Monster, a gift from his Uncle Ben, who passed away from cancer in 2017. Ever since then, Jake couldn’t seal the deal on an early season buck so he hadn’t used it much in recent seasons. But in early September 2025, the timing finally felt right.
Fast forward to this year. From August 12th onward, Jake and his family watched a massive buck—eventually named “Big Ben” in honor of his uncle—cruise through the same area day and night. The deer showed up like clockwork for nearly a month daylighting 6 or 7 times from August 12th to September 7th. Jake and his brother KJ, who films for KUJO Outdoors, started taking notes. Wind direction. Pressure. Moon phase. Daylight movement. Anything they could use to determine the best day to catch Big Ben slipping.
But big Ben didn’t slip on the Kentucky opener. The brothers hunted hard but the buck didn’t show on their Tactacam until 1 am that evening. All they could do was hope for better conditions.
On the second evening of Kentucky’s archery season, the wind shifted, and a cool front rolled in. So they washed their gear, sprayed down with Scent Thief, and headed to the woods.
“We first heard a buck making a rub out of sight and just had a feeling it was him,” Jake says. “As soon as he stepped out, I saw this long kicker off his left base. I never looked at his antlers again—just focused on pulling my bow back and placing the shot.”
With his Uncle Ben’s bow and arrow, Jake settled his pin and let it fly.
“I try not to watch my arrow as I release,” Jake explains. “But KJ was behind the camera and instantly said, ‘Great shot, dude.’ I knew then it was right behind the shoulder. We heard him crash 10 seconds later.”
The deer ran just 80 yards. And as they recovered the buck—a 21-point, 186-inch giant—it still hadn’t sunk in.
What Jake didn’t realize in the moment was that the next day would have been Uncle Ben’s 59th birthday. It was only after a phone call with his dad, Hurley Combs, that everything clicked. “Then I knew it was all meant to be,” Jake says. “It came together how it was supposed to.”
But the story didn’t stop there.
Hurley, a seasoned Kentucky hunter who owns Lost Mountain Outfitters, wasn’t planning to hunt that Monday. He and KJ were supposed to be heading east for elk season prep. But KJ got sick, so Hurley stayed home and decided to slip into a stand one last time before outfitting season took over.
Like Jake’s deer, Hurley’s target buck—nicknamed “Hollywood”—had been on camera regularly. They’d passed the deer the previous year when he was a clean 12-point, hoping he’d blow up with another season of growth. When he returned with 13 points and more mass, he knew the decision had paid off.
Hollywood was showing up like clockwork most days, so it was only a matter of time.
On the evening of September 8th, Hurley climbed into his stand. Shortly after the buck came in on a string, and Hurley made a perfect shot with his Hoyt bow. His buck scored 175 inches—a giant in its own right. And he got the entire hunt on film.
Back-to-back giants. Two monster bucks taken just two days apart. One with a bow passed down through family. The other with decades of experience and instinct guiding the hunt. And both in honor of a man whose love for the outdoors still echoes through every decision they made.
“These kinds of hunts don’t happen often,” Jake says. “It’s easy to get caught up in chasing the perfect deer, but preparation is everything. Shoot your bow often. Know your setup. Believe in your scent control, whatever system you run. The little details add up.”
But the heart of the story isn’t just about strategy. It’s about family. About honoring a legacy. And about two hunters who, whether they knew it or not, were sharing something much bigger than a hunt.
Jake summed it up best in a post that night: “Happy Birthday Uncle Ben! I’m sure you’d be grinning knowing I finally got one down with your ol’ Mathews bow.”
His grin would’ve been ear to ear.
