Pennsylvania Game News - February 2022 - 20

Rather, Karen typically sits on a milk
crate tucked into scraggly weeds, or on
occasion, on a fallen log at a field edge.
Scott often takes an even more minimalist
approach.
" Sometimes there's no cover so I find
a little dip and I'll lay on my belly, " Scott
said. " That's where the crossbows come
in. It's just too hard with a regular bow
because you've got to sit up.
" I used to hunt it with a vertical bow.
There were lots of missed opportunities.
But when crossbows became legal, it was
like, oh boy, this is perfect. "
Hunting in the open that way can vary
from boring to intense. Both Scott and
Karen said they can sometimes go days,
even weeks, without seeing deer, or at
least without having any come within
bow range.
But there are plenty of magical nights,
too. Karen once was hunting after a rain,
when wet ground made it hard to hear
anything moving.
" I couldn't see much because I'm sitting
in weeds, " she said. " Well, all of the
sudden, this buck comes running through.
And I'm not kidding you, if I didn't jump
to my left, and jump off the milk crate, he
would have run me straight down. I mean,
I could have grabbed him.
" There was a doe right behind him and
she almost hit me. She skidded toward
me and got caught up in these vines and
almost choked herself trying to get out.
They weren't even 3 yards from me. That
was pretty crazy. Kind of scary, but it was
interesting, too. "
The only thing more interesting - and
seemingly unlikely - than one family
taking five record-book deer is that they
hunt together at all.
Scott and Karen grew up in Elizabeth
Township, less than 2 miles apart, but are
four years apart in age. They didn't start
20
dating until both were out of school.
Karen didn't hunt then. The youngest
of five children, she heard tales of her
grandfather once having a hunting camp,
but neither her dad nor any of her siblings
ever took to the woods.
Scott got her started. Now she's a diehard,
one who's taken a buck every season
for about 20 years straight.
" My family doesn't understand why
I'm out in the woods, " Karen said. " My
mom will say, 'Karen, it's raining.' And
I'll be like, yeah, but it's hunting season.
I just love it. "
A school teacher in Morgantown, she
often relates to her students through hunting,
sharing stories and venison jerky with
those in her class or perhaps who know
her by reputation.
Logan, meanwhile - training to
become a waterways conservation
officer with the Pennsylvania
Fish and Boat Commission, like
his dad - started hunting early on.
But it was trailing a big buck that
really turned him on to chasing
whitetails.
Scott first took him out when he
was 9, in what was the first year of
the mentored hunting program. He
had a hard time sitting still. That,
and his inexperience, never having
yet felt the heart-pumping thrill
of a deer approaching, had him
half-hearted.
Then, Scott shot one of his
record book bucks - in the wide
open - late one day. Logan accompanied
him when he went looking
for it the next morning.
Karen, Scott and Logan Opfer, of
Smithfield, with record-book bucks
taken on the same Allegheny County
land, where they hide in plain sight,
waiting for deer in an open field.
Pennsylvania Game News - February 2022

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