I usually split around half idle like you do, but turn it up when I get big rounds like this. I find often times that very first entry matters, so I wonder if it would have split if you had it idled up initially! Glad yall are getting rain down there!
When we get wood in the wood yard …. We generally get wood this size along with the limbs. I try not to buy trucks of logs if I can get free stuff that I can work up