The BEST episodes of Ax Men season 1
Every episode of Ax Men season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Ax Men season 1!
The History Channel presents the first non-fiction show about the lives of the Pacific Northwest timber cutters and the dangers they face. From the same team responsible for Ice Road Truckers, this new series will take a look at the legacy of the pioneers who laid the foundations for future generations of loggers.
#1 - The Final Haul
Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 6/8/2008
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.
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#2 - Risk and Reward
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/16/2008
Just days into the fall logging season, the Ax Men are already being put to the test. J.M. Browning races to meet a big deadline. Stump Branch Logging tempts fate by jury-rigging their old equipment. The Gustafson Company races mother nature as they attempt to build a road to access their logging site. Father teaches son the lessons of logging as the men of the Pihl Company haul in the forest's cash crop.
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#3 - The Big Hit
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/30/2008
Across Northwest Oregon, the Ax Men continue to grind it out. Storm season arrived with a vengeance--shutting some crews down while others struggled to stay afloat. Now a bigger storm is brewing. The stalled housing market's effects are hitting the Ax Men hard. Jobs will be shut down; men will be put out of work. This week, the housing market hits home.
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#4 - Storm of the Century
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 5/18/2008
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.
#5 - Picking Up the Pieces
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 6/1/2008
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.
#6 - A Logger's Thanksgiving
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 5/4/2008
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.
#7 - Loggers Under Fire
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/27/2008
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.
#8 - Black Friday
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 5/11/2008
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.
#9 - Reversal of Fortune
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/13/2008
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.
#10 - The Close Call
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/20/2008
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.
#11 - Market Meltdown
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/6/2008
The loggers of the Pacific Northwest perform what is said to be North America's most dangerous job. Watch as the men react to news of upcoming layoffs. Gustafson Logging tries to get back on track, Browning Logging races to meet a big deadline and Pihl Logging needs to finish the Pig Farm Job. Despite Melvin's best efforts to keep up with his old equipment, Stump Branch Logging loses one of its most important machines.
#12 - Man vs. Mountain
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/9/2008
Deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest, rugged men make their living doing one of the deadliest jobs in the world... logging. Their mission is to retrieve timber perched on mountainsides too steep to access with machines, but it's no easy task. Plagued by mechanical failures, relentless weather, and unpredictable terrain, these brave men risk their lives retrieving the timber with which we built our country. Meet four companies trying to survive each day. Pihl Logging--a rag-tag group of loggers based in Vernonia, Oregon. Gustafson Logging--a close-knit crew working one of the most dangerous jobs in the region. J.M. Browning--the best of the best. Stump Branch Logging--the young guns with a lot to prove. These are the Ax Men.
#13 - Storm Season Strikes
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/23/2008
As a storm closes in on the Oregon coast, the Ax Men race to stay one step ahead. Jesse continues to push the J.M. Browning crew to meet its looming deadline, while muddy roads trap trucks on their way to the Stump Branch site. Robby battles for control of the Gustafson crew. Pihl Logging feels the effects of the slumping lumber market.