Deaton’s 230-class non-typical took best in show at the prestigious Iowa Deer Classic in Des Moines. Photo by Randy Templeton.

By the time the 2006 season came to a close, reports of several giant whitetails being taken in the Midwest had been received. However, few so captured the attention of hunters and non-hunters alike as did the awesome 27-point non-typical taken in Iowa by shotgun hunter Paul Deaton.

Within hours of the Jasper County giant’s demise, photos were being splashed across the Web. Few people knew Deaton’s name, so the buck was labeled with the hunter’s home town, and quickly came to be known as the “Mingo Buck.”

When the story of a big whitetail starts making the rounds on the Internet, some people can’t seem to stop themselves from adding a few fictional tidbits before passing it along. It can sure make for some entertaining reading -- but before long the story is both exaggerated and watered down to the point that it’s tough to sort out facts from fiction.

I’ve never been much for spreading gossip (or adding fuel to the fire, for that matter), so I called Paul to get the straight skinny. Moreover, I wanted to hear about the exciting events that led up to him taking one of the biggest whitetails in the country during the 2006 season.

“There’s no doubt in my mind: The hunting gods were shining down on me that day,” the 42-year-old Deaton began. “I’ve been hunting for 22 years and only dreamed of shooting a deer of like this. For weeks after I couldn’t grasp how much attention the deer and I had drawn. Even today it’s still hard to believe that this actually happened to me.

“It seems every year I hear stories of a big deer that had been spotted around the general area before the season; sometimes the stories ring true, and others times not. This year wasn’t much different -- except I learned firsthand about a huge deer on the property we would be hunting from my good friend, Jimmy Byal.

“Before this year, the landowner hadn’t allowed any shotgun hunters on the property since the mid-to-late 1980s. In recent years, however, the landowner had let a couple of bowhunters on during the archery season.

“It so happens that Jimmy is a distant cousin to the landowner,” Deaton continued, “and was given permission to take his son, Billy, pheasant hunting during the youth season in late October. When Jimmy returned that day, he couldn’t wait to tell me about the big buck that the dog had jumped in a grassy draw.”

After considerable pleading with his cousin, Jimmy was given permission to hunt the 140-acre farm during the shotgun season. Needless to say, after hearing about the big deer, Paul and his 16-year-old son, Mack, were really looking forward to the upcoming season.

According to Paul, the property isn’t big by any means, but it has ideal habitat for harboring a big buck or two. Agricultural crops such as corn and soybeans surround the perimeter of the farm, but the 40-acre apple orchard is the primary attractant for deer with a sweet tooth.

“I’ve hunted the general area for over 20 years,” said the hunter from Mingo, “and had always dreamed of hunting that piece of property. And that day finally arrived.”

THE HUNT BEGINS
“We were up bright and early that morning,” Deaton recalled. “I’m guessing around 5:00 or so. Shortly after Mack and I finished breakfast, Jimmy and Billy arrived. Within a few minutes we were loaded up and heading down the road.

“Our plans that morning were to still hunt half the property for the first hour. Afterwards, we’d make a soft drive through that section. We set up Billy on one side of the grassy draw and Mack on the other; Jimmy was posted on the far end, and I swung around to the lower end. If we hadn’t seen or shot anything by 8:00, Jimmy would walk the draw toward me. Afterwards we’d make a slow push toward the boys.