Ax Men

Logging has been called North America’s most dangerous job. Logging giants throughout Oregon are falling. Two of the biggest–J.M. Browning and Gustafson Logging–are fighting to survive. Jay Browning, usually flush with lucrative deals, is forced to make tough decisions. Gustafson Logging is down but not out. Smaller outfits, like Stump Branch and Pihl, find winning strategies in their young leaders.

The season is halfway through, and the gap between winners and losers is widening. Stump Branch tests a new but more dangerous logging strategy… and it poses great danger to the men in the rigging. The Pihl men play while the bosses are away. Browning Logging is a team divided. Jesse struggles to prove himself to his father… but faulty equipment isn’t helping matters. A mistake on the Gustafson crew may end one man’s career.

In the wake of the plummeting logging market, the Ax Men are barely surviving. The Gustafson bosses have a close call while taking over for their laid-off crew. An old hook tender returns to the Browning team, stopping Jesse’s ascension to company management. Pihl loses a crucial member of the team as it struggles to finish Pig Farm. At Stump Branch, the young guns take matters into their own hands when Melvin has to leave the site.

Thanksgiving is over, but the return to work brings more trouble for the Ax Men. The Gustafson crew now faces a nearly impossible deadline after returning from a devastating two-week layoff. Pig Farm is close to its deadline, but half of the Pihl crew skips work, leaving greenhorn Cody to pick up the slack. Mistakes and inexperience at Stump Branch put profits and lives at risk. Jay Browning makes a troubling discovery about his next job.

Thanksgiving arrives; winter weather strikes and the men of Pihl lose one man after another to illness. The younger crew members of Gustafson blow off steam while the bosses toil away. Jay is forced to ax some of the Browning gang staff. The season’s first snow is a warning of things to come for the Stump Branch crew.

The town of Vernonia is declared a disaster area as the worst storm in 25 years pounds the Oregon coast. Members of Pihl and Stump Branch are forced to flee. Jay Browning can’t be found. Darrell must act fast to save his house from falling trees as the town of Astoria descends into a blackout. The future of the logging industry is in jeopardy.

History takes a look back at this extraordinary season of Ax Men.

The Ax Men are ready to get back to work and put the storm behind them. Darrell makes a startling discovery that could mean the end for the Challenge job. The Stump Branch crew must figure out a Plan B and find missing greenhorn Michael. Still without phone service, Jay Browning struggles to gather his troops. The Pihl crew bails out one of its own.

Logging’s toughest season winds down but the battle is far from over. Jesse questions the future of his family’s business as J.M. Browning continues to fall from glory. The Gustafson crew returns to the Challenge, but rumors of a final pullout abound. The Pihl crew wraps Beaver and celebrates a successful year. A member of the Stump Branch crew announces that he will not return.