Ohio's first crossbow season was held in 1976. By 1989, crossbows had become so popular among Ohio deer hunters that they took the lead from vertical bows (longbows, recurves, compounds) in the number of deer harvested during archery season. That trend continues to this day, with the total archery kill in the state averaging 55 percent by crossbow, compared to 45 percent by vertical bow.

Taken on Nov. 9, 2007, Jason Fizer's "split-tine" buck was a huge main-frame 6x6 with two additional abnormal points. The long-tined Adams County bruiser netted 191 2/8 non-typical points.

With that popularity and Ohio's proclivity for producing record-book bucks, it's no wonder that many of Ohio's giant whitetails are taken by hunters using the horizontal bow. Here's a look at three of the Buckeye State's top bucks taken with a crossbow in 2007.

JASON FIZER'S SPLIT-TINE BUCK
Adams County has a reputation for producing big racks, and it came as no surprise that one of the state's top bucks in 2007 came from this rural southwestern county along the Ohio River. The deer was a big 14-point non-typical taken in the river hills near Manchester by Jason Fizer on Nov. 9, 2007. Jason had only been hunting for two years when he bagged his Adams County megabuck.

"My buddy Jesse Fisher talked me into going hunting with him on Thanksgiving Day in 2006," Jason said. "So I used his extra crossbow and ended up tagging a doe that first time out. That got me hooked."

Prior to the '07 bow season, Jason had purchased a secondhand Horton Crossbow for $150. He practiced with it daily.

"In 2006, I had found a big shed antler with an unusual split tine while walking out of the woods one evening," Jason said. "I hunted back in that same area again in early 2007 and didn't see anything."

Frustrated with not seeing any deer, Jason started thinking about looking for another location to place his stand in. The week before he tagged his record-book buck, he made up his mind to relocate. "While I was scouting for a new location, I heard a buck chasing a doe in the woods," Jason said. "I heard him grunt. So I dropped to my knees, got out my grunt call and answered his grunt.

The buck came straight toward me. He stopped in some brush about 20 yards away and started looking around. All I could see was his rack. After he spooked and took off, I ran over to where he'd been standing and noticed a 5- to 6-inch drop tine on his left beam as he was running away."

With a new infusion of confidence after finding some heavily used trails, scraps and rubs, and after seeing a large buck with a drop tine, Jason knew he'd found a good spot to hunt.

"I went back the next day and saw some does," Jason said. "I told Jesse that he needed to go with me the following weekend because I'd seen a nice buck that maybe one of us would get a shot at."

The following Friday, Nov. 9, Jason and Jesse were at their newly located tree stands early in the morning.

"Right at daybreak I saw a nice buck about 60 yards away," Jason said. "I tried grunting, but he wouldn't respond. Less than 15 minutes later I heard something behind me, and I stood up to look around the tree and saw another large buck."

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