Ax Men — Season 4

The fourth season of Ax Men returns and this year, the stakes are higher than ever. Father-and-son team Craig and Gabe Rygaard are back to take down reigning top dog J.M. Browning, but newcomer Papac Alaska Logging is gunning for both of them. Braving a remote island off the coast of Alaska, these guys play by their own rules and will stop at nothing to conquer one of America's final frontiers. Pihl Logging also returns, this time with a secret weapon whose arrival shocks the entire crew.  While the mountain's top dogs battle it out in the northwest... in the other corner of the country, the aqua loggers also return.  Jimmy Smith is back to reclaim his son and challenge rival Collins to a Log-Off in the black waters of the Suwannee River, while swamp logger Shelby Stanga is on a mission to find an assistant in the backwoods of Louisiana. It's the start of the most explosive season yet in the race to get the country's green gold and get out alive.

Rygaard tries to tame two monsters at the same time--the super-juiced Mean Bean and the downhill site on which it's deployed. Pihl's greenhorn must prove herself to the crew but a deadly mistake could cost her everything. Jimmy encounters trouble on his way to the river. Shelby and his new assistant take drastic measures to unearth a monster log. And at Papac Alaska, tempers boil over, sending one man running for the hills.

On the edge of America's final frontier, it's every logger's worst nightmare: one of Papac Alaska's men has disappeared into thin air. Logging country is rattled to its core when logger Van Huffman goes missing in Alaska's remote wilderness. But when Papac Alaska's crew braves the harsh terrain and weather that batters Suemez Island, they find many reasons for concern and few for hope. Down south, the mountain's newbies are in hot water. At Pihl, Leah creates an upender that threatens the entire crew and at Rygaard, Dave's "work ethic" meets Craig's wrath. In Louisiana, Shelby messes with a lethal dose of TNT that could sink him and his swamp friends for good, while the Collins crew lands on the wrong end of a runaway boat.

At Papac Alaska, time is running out for missing logger Van Huffman. At Rygaard, Gabe gambles on a helicopter... and loses. At Pihl, rigging slinger Eric Davis is rushed to the hospital after a gruesome fall. In Louisiana, Shelby pulls an all-nighter to save his dog Piss Willy. And in Florida, Collins puts the Smith boys in their place.

It's a battle for survival in logging country. In Bayou country, Shelby's nighttime mission brings him face-to-face with an alligator. In Florida, Jimmy and James push their luck to get one of the biggest logs in the Suwannee. At Rygaard, Dave goes down with an injury, while at Papac Alaska, the Colonel goes out in a blaze of glory. The tides are turning in logging country... and after tonight, nothing will be the same.

Logging country is turned upside down when one of the mountain's best bows out. At Papac Alaska, the men suffer under the reign of a new yarder operator. At Rygaard, it's machinery gone wild when a half-baked plan goes bad and threatens to take out a fellow man. In Florida, Jimmy and James are hunted by a venomous snake, while in Louisiana, Shelby is hunted by an old foe.

Tonight, logging country is teetering on the edge. At Rygaard, Gabe lands on the wrong end of a volatile log pile. At Papac Alaska, Coatsy risks sending their million-dollar yarder over the edge of a steep cliff. Down south, Shelby Stanga dodges gunfire on the Louisiana bayou, and in Florida, James Smith walks out on his father.

Ax Men is hitting the freezing waters of southeast Alaska when a new tug boat company enters the fold. Charged with towing Papac Alaska's million-dollar payday to the mill, this veteran crew is getting a new addition: former Pihl hothead Dustin Dethlefs. At Papac Alaska, Coatsy faces competition when a former rigger returns. At Pihl, the new greenhorn leaves a lot to be desired. In Florida, Jimmy Smith goes it alone, and at Rygaard, Craig goes over Gabe's head in an attempt to push chaser Dave Schroeder out.

At Rygaard, Craig's secret weapon arrives with a bang... but the crew's welcome of the new guy is far from warm. In Florida, Collins and Smith go log-for-log as both teams take a run at the lead in the Log-Off.  At Olson, a broken log raft requires quick thinking from greenhorn Dustin Dethlef. At Papac Alaska, Joe and Coatsy face-off in a log rolling competition, and in Pihl country, a dangerous thinning site and temperamental equipment are a deadly combination for the rigging crew below.

As the season reaches the halfway mark, logging country is feeling the pressure. In Florida, Swilley gets hooked in a pile of rusty metal while Jimmy and James ride a wave of high times. At Rygaard, Gabe puts his entire crew on the line when he decides to fall standing trees from directly under the skyline. In Oregon, Pihl's greenhorn lands on the wrong end of a 2,000-lb falling tree, and in bayou county, Shelby launches a dangerous nighttime mission in a part of the swamp known as "Alligator Alley".

Logging country is coming unglued. Rygaard is a war zone when the battle between chasers threatens to tear apart the entire crew. At Papac Alaska, Joe and Coatsy let the fists fly. In Florida, Jimmy suffers a season-ending injury. In the swamp, Shelby Stanga pushes his Log Dog past the tipping point... and for Pihl, the end is sooner than they think.

In this episode of Ax Men, it's out with the old, in with the new. King of the Mountain J.M. Browning returns with son Jesse leading the charge. At Rygaard and Pihl, both companies face season-ending crises. In Florida, James hires a new deckhand but takes a serious blow to the head...and in Cajun country, Shelby's got a new toy.

While the competition between American loggers is more heated than ever... up north, there's a new game in town. Canadian top dogs Lemare Lake Logging are facing one of the toughest jobs of their career--a remote patch of land accessible only by boat. But when a major piece of equipment goes down, it threatens to end their season before it ever gets going. Down south, Browning's punishing pace comes at a price. In Alaska, rivals Joe and Coatsy settle their differences with an old school ax-chopping competition. In Florida, Joe Collins conjures up the spirits of the Suwannee, and in the backwaters of the bayou, Shelby's putting his swamp buggy to work.

From coast to coast, logging companies are willing to do anything to stay on top. At Browning, the crew gambles on a slipping skyline. In the bayou, Shelby puts his swamp buggy to the test pulling one of the biggest logs of the season. At Rygaard, Craig mounts an assault to get rid of Dave. In Florida, Joe Collins takes the plunge into the black waters of the Suwannee while S&S tries to regroup with the help of local deckhand Casey Roberson. And in Canada, Lemare receives devastating news that could end their season before it ever gets going.

There's a new crop of loggers in Ax Men country... but fitting in with the old guard ain't easy. In Louisiana, a beauty queen quickly pushes all of Shelby's buttons at once. At Lemare, Steve and the greenhorn butt heads that ends with one of them quitting. In Florida, S&S's newest deckhand gets more Jimmy Smith than he can handle. At Papac Alaska, Joe and Coatsy get a chance to bury the hatchet... but at Rygaard, the bad blood between Craig and Dave is worse than ever and is on the verge of tearing the crew apart.

From Canada to Louisiana, desperate times call for desperate measures. At Lemare, a washed out road threatens to trap their logs on the landing... until Gord decides to blast half the mountainside to make new gravel. At Rygaard, Gabe's got a surprise for his crew to put them back on track, while in Oregon, Jay Browning has a close call with a barberchair. In Louisiana, Shelby's bringing in a surprising new assistant: his wife Donna. And in Florida, Joe and Swilley hook a bigger log than they can handle and end up sinking their boat in the process.

As the logging season winds down, the pressure to produce, heats up. In Alaska, a family emergency takes Mark from the yarder seat and with no time for a shut down... Papac calls on the only guy with experience running the massive machine: Joe Linderborg. Meanwhile the men of Rygaard are feasting at the Honey Hole, pulling big wood and riding high. Down south on the Suwannee, Jimmy and James try to close the gap in the Log-Off while Joe and Swilley just try to get back on the water. And in the Louisiana bayou, a ghost threatens to derail Shelby.

It's time to finish the season strong. In Florida, the Log-Off is locked in a dead heat, and with Joe and Swilley sidelined after sinking their second boat, Jimmy and James are poised to take the top spot. Swamp man Shelby Stanga's log buyer is due in the morning, but a bite from a water moccasin may kill his plans for success. At Rygaard, Craig kicks Dave off the landing, but one moment of inattention could be the end for former chaser. At Browning, the crew battles a patch of tangled timber, and north of the border, the men of Lemare are racing to stay ahead of winter storms that could shut them down at any time.

Across logging country, the final push begins. At Papac, Joe Linderborg's reign on the yarder has everyone running scared. At Browning, Jay receives devastating news that could mean the end of his career. On the Suwannee, S&S and Collins almost come to blows over a pair of logs. In the swamp, Shelby mounts his final and most important mission of the season--saving his Log Dog. And at Rygaard, one chaser blows up and bows out of the competition for good.

It's the final week of Ax Men, and as the clock counts down, tempers heat up. In the bayou, Shelby races to raise his rig before offshore storms force the end of the season. In Florida, S&S and Collins cash in on the season's take... but for these bitter rivals, it's not over until it's over. At Lemare, Gord rushes to deliver a season's profit to the mill in time. And at both Papac and Rygaard, last minute gambles backfire and push the race to become King of the Mountain to the final seconds of the season.