First-Time Hunter Tags Out In Just Two Hunts

Elise Piotrowski, 23, scored on a super 9-point Oglethorpe County buck during her second hunt ever on her family’s newly bought property.

Before this season, Elise Piotrowski, of Athens, had always enjoyed fishing and surrounding herself in the outdoors. The 23-year-old had always wanted to go hunting but didn’t know where to start; until she met Dakota. Elise met her boyfriend Dakota Bales, an avid hunter, in the summer, and with Dakota’s guidance and mentorship, it gave Elise the opportunity to hunt for the first time this year.

Elise’s family recently bought land in Oglethorpe County, so she and Dakota decided to try to hunt it. With her brand-new Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed 7mm PRC, Elise got to hunt her family’s property for the first time. Unfortunately, they didn’t see anything.

Determined to get Elise her first buck, Dakota invited her to hunt on his family’s property, also in Oglethorpe County, on Oct. 25. According to Dakota, an 8-pointer had been spotted on their trail cameras a few times, and they had high hopes of getting a shot at him.

The night before the hunt, Elise took three practice shots with her rifle, and with it dialed in, she decided to hunt in the morning. To her surprise, the 8-point that had been caught on camera stepped out into the clearing, and she took the shot.

“It ran, so I thought I missed,” said Elise.

She and Dakota climbed out of the stand to search for blood, and with sparse drops, they decided to split off. Dakota eventually gave her a call to tell her he’d found the deer.

“I remember being so excited when he called me and said he found it,” says Elise, “I was really surprised; I couldn’t believe I actually did it!”

As if she hadn’t already had remarkable luck on her first ever hunt, Elise was presented with another opportunity. On Nov. 16, a big 9-pointer showed up on a camera they had recently placed on her family’s new property. Excited about the sighting, Dakota and Elise decided to try their hand again on the property the afternoon of Nov. 17 in hopes of her tagging out on bucks during her first-ever season in the deer woods.

After about two hours in the stand, a big 9-point buck stepped out into the clearing.

“A doe had come out right before him, and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, there he is!’”

With a deep breath to calm the nerves, Elise took the shot.

“I could tell I hit him by the way he moved,” said Elise.

Dakota filmed the shot to preserve the memory. Excited about the definite hit on her second true hunt of the season, Dakota and Elise left the stand to track. Surprisingly, there was no blood.

“I got really discouraged when we couldn’t find any blood,” said Elise.

Dakota played back the video he took to see which direction the deer had run off. Eventually, they stumbled upon some tracks, and Elise spotted the brown body lying in the thicket.

“I was kind of in disbelief,” says Elise, “it was really only my second time hunting, and I had gotten both bucks both times.”

Dakota and Elise got to share this memorable moment together, and it will likely be cherished forever.

“It’s just exciting seeing her shoot a big deer like that in her first year,” said Dakota. He estimates the 9-pointer will score around 130 inches.

Reflecting on her success as a new hunter, Elise said, “I’ve never killed an animal. But after I killed that first buck, I knew I loved it and that I wanted to be back in the stand every day.”

She aspires to grow in the sport and potentially experience out-of-state hunts with a variety of animals, such as elk or hogs.

It’s just about every new hunter’s dream to tag out with two big bucks in their first season, let alone within a month of each other and on two very nice bucks. Elise has had a very successful first hunting season, and we’re excited to see where her journey leads.