Jonathan Phillips with his Ohio giant, a 194 ¼–inch 10-point taken after a perfectly-timed October cold front.
January 14, 2026
By Clifford Neames
When he saw an October cold front rolling in, Jonathan Phillips knew he needed to get to the property he hunts in Ohio. There was a very special buck, nicknamed “Splitz”, up there that made the 7 ½-hour drive from his home in North Carolina worthwhile.
Jonathan had spent the last two years grooming and feeding the property and he knew that his best chance of taking the 5 ½-year-old giant early in the season was likely going to happen on October 8th.
Jonathan had placed two stands on the 35 acres — a lock-on and a Millennium ladder — at prime spots in preparation for the hunt. When he arrived at 2:30 p.m. that afternoon, the wind was wrong for the lock-on.
“And I was tired,” he began. “So, the ladder stand was the easier option of the two.”
A trail-camera image of “Splitz” revealed the massive frame that kept Jonathan Phillips making the long drive. Jonathan climbed up, hung his bow, and settled in.
“I was thinking I might end up just observing that afternoon,” he recalled. “But there were some pictures of Splitz passing the stand late in the day, so there was a chance it might work out.”
Not long into his sit, a small buck moved into the area and give him something to watch as he waited.
“As the afternoon wore on, I was thinking it was getting late and he may not show,” Jonathan remembered. “Then I heard something out to my right that sounded like a squirrel, but a quick glance revealed that Splitz was right there, only 15 yards away!”
Years of preparation paid off as Jonathan Phillips poses with “Splitz,” his 5 ½-year-old Ohio mega buck. The giant buck had slipped in so quietly that Jonathan was caught with his bow still hanging.
“I needed to grab it and stand up to shoot, but he was right under me,” he explained. “Then he began showing dominance toward the smaller buck and I took advantage of that.”
The big buck was posturing and pawing at the ground like a rodeo bull as Jonathan made his move. Splitz walked out a bit more and it was go time. The arrow zipped in just behind the shoulder, passing right through as Splitz carved his way around the ladder in a tight semicircle and crashed into the brush. Then it became eerily quiet!
“I could see the lighted nock sticking out of the ground and I felt pretty good about the shot, so I took a few minutes to call my wife, a friend, and my dad while I killed the next half hour,” he added. “When I climbed down and shined my light into the woods I could see the rack. I told my dad that I thought he was 200!”
The 194 ¼-inch Ohio giant known as “Splitz,” moments after the recovery on October 8. That guess was not off by much, as the mainframe 10-point rack rough scored 194 ¼ inches. It also weighed 274 pounds on the hoof, too.
“I had to get a sled to get him out of the woods,” Jonathon chuckled.
And I bet he didn’t mind at all!
