Ax Men

Shelby Stanga continues his search for the million-dollar log raft; the Dreadknots have a new enemy.

Craig stops by and gets an unwelcome surprise of his own; Shelby loses his assistant.

Gabe gets some help from an unlikely family member; Shelby's log buyer stops by for a visit.

It's week four and the season is already running off the rails. On the Olympic Peninsula, Gabe runs a hung-over greenhorn into the ground but Jason disagrees with Gabe's management style. In the swamp, Belinda is too hurt to log so she's brought in a new assistant who almost drowns Shelby's dream of rebuilding his logging empire. Up in Alaska, Mike Papac decides to shake things up and brings in a long time family friend to help in the rigging. The battle for river supremacy rages on in Florida as the Chapman team fights amongst themselves and the Dreadknots divide to conquer.

The competition is heating up a quarter of the way through the season. Down in the Bayou, Shelby brings in a new assistant, but the logging gets put on hold when the Swamp Man finds that all his equipment has been sabotaged. In the Pacific Northwest, Joe tries to muscle his way through his mistakes but his shortcuts land him in hot water with the boss. In Washington, Gabe's greenhorns aren't living up their potential, and things get heated when Jason oversteps his boundaries and takes matters into his own hands. In Florida, the Dreadknots have their hands full with some surprise help on the boat, while Swilley fights for his place on the boat with the Chapman crew.

In Cajun country, Shelby has found a huge cash of logs, but to get it, he has to navigate the paddle barge through a narrow canal surrounded by private homes and docks. On the Olympic Peninsula, Gabe goes it alone and risks his own life trying to do too much. Down in Florida, the competition is heating up as the Chapman team discovers someone is poaching their logs and the Dreadknots suffer a crippling injury when Kraken gets his hand caught in a winch. Up in Alaska, Joe is sent to teach new logger Adrienne while topping a tree.

In Washington, Gabe Rygaard is in over his head when a logging legend bails him out of trouble and gets him back in the race for King Of the Mountain. Down in Louisiana, Shelby and old friend Mike Chatellier use brute force to pull two of the biggest logs they have ever seen. With the Kraken injured, the Dreadknots bring in a new diver to brave the muddy waters of the Withlacoochee, but she soon finds out river logging isn't easy. Down on the Saint John's River, the Chapman team is pulling ahead, but a log poacher needs to be caught and Jeter is just the guy to do it.

The Rygaard family is back on the mountain and firing on all cylinders, until new yarder team Oakes Logging crashes onto the site, challenging Gabe face-to-face for the title of King of the Mountain. Down in the swamp, Shelby and Mike use redneck ingenuity to pull a huge and rare heart-pine log.  In Alaska, the Papac team is down a yarder engineer, leaving them no choice but to make reckless Joe the new operator in order to stay in the race. In Florida, the Dreadknots newest diver Erin is finally getting the hang of river logging, but Kraken's fear of another diver taking his place causes a rift with Captain Clint. Meanwhile, the Chapman team gets revenge on a suspected log poacher.

In the bayou, Shelby goes diving in gator infested waters. Up north, rivals Rygaard and Oakes square off on a one-way road and a Rygaard driver is nearly killed when his truck flips. Down in Florida, the Dreadknots go their separate ways as Kraken and Katelyn set sail with their own boat. And in Alaska, the hottest day of the season gets even hotter for the Papac crew when a fire breaks out on the mountain.

It's half way through the season and time to go old school. Down in the Bayou, Shelby's wild ride could end his season early. In the Pacific Northwest, Rygaard and Oakes compete in a no-holds barred turf war. Up in Alaska, an accident sidelines one of the Papac crew. And in Florida, Logzilla continues to derail Kraken.

In the Bayou, Shelby goes on the hunt for the thief who stole his boat. Up north in Washington, the battle between rivals explodes as Rygaard refuses to allow Oakes to pass through their landing. Down in Florida, Clint's boat nearly goes up in smoke. And Swilley pulls up a prize from the bottom of the lake, the Chapman crew will never forget.

Big noise and big toys turn the season upside down. In Alaska, a misstep by Joe cripples the yarder for Papac. In Washington, Gabe Rygaard pulls out a massive feller buncher--one of the largest machines in the logging industry. Down in Florida, the skies open up on the Dreadknots and Chapman crews as they try to make it through a dangerous lightning storm.

On Snag Hill, the war between Rygaard and Oakes explodes after Kelly demolishes a Rygaard pick-up truck. At Papac's site, tensions between Coatsy and Joe also reach a fever pitch as Coatsy makes a drastic decision regarding Joe's employment. Down in Florida, the Chapman crew may have found the treasure of a lifetime. On the other side of the Sunshine State, with Logzilla still stalling, The Kraken steals Clint's boat. And in the Bayou, Shelby's spin in his new ATV ends in disaster.

In the Bayou, Shelby teaches his new puppy how to hunt for wood. On Snag Hill, the Rygaard crew breaks out their biggest weapon, but the increased production leads to total chaos. In Alaska, the Papac team struggles as Coatsy tries his hand in the yarder. Down south, Chapman's night logging expedition clashes head on with a band of alligators. And the end of a legend turns the Dreadknots season upside down.

In Washington, a battle erupts when Oakes is accused of stealing Rygaard's logs. In Alaska, tensions soar as a runaway log nearly wipes out the crew. In the Bayou, Shelby brings out his puppy to help him with a special assignment. Down in Florida, when Swilley gets snagged underwater, it's up to Jeter to save him. And in Louisiana, Ax Cut Lumber uses a homemade invention to float a monster log home.

In the Bayou, Shelby and his new hand hit pay dirt with one of the biggest logs of the season. In Alaska, Coatsy's misstep in the yarder puts the crew in danger. Down in Florida, the Dreadknots reunite and take the fight directly to Chapman's home turf. And in the pacific northwest, tensions rise and hard hats roll when Rygaard and Oakes are forced to share the same landing.

In Washington, Rygaard's quest for king of the mountain hits the skids when the crew nearly topples the yarder. Down the road, the Oakes crew capitalizes on their sidelined rivals and one team member learns first hand a drastic remedy for a toothache in the brush. In the Bayou, while trying to bring in a land-locked monster cypress, Shelby pushes his boat to the limit. On Alaska's Kupreanof Island, Joe returns, determined to whip the crew back into shape. And down in Florida, Chapman races against a lightning storm to find river gold, while the Dreadknots conspire with a Chapman enemy to secure their lead.

In Washington, frustration boils over as Rygaard and Oakes are forced to share the same landing. Down in the bayou, Shelby gets in hot water with the law over a contested log. Up in Alaska, Joe and Coatsy struggle to get the Papac crew back on track. In Florida, the Dreadknots have a run-in with fish and wildlife while the chapman crew works through the night to catch up in the log count. And on the Pearl River, the Ax Cut team races against a fast moving tropical storm.

As the loggers close in on the end of the season, one log could be the difference between winning and losing, reeling in fortunes or coming up short. In Louisiana, Shelby is only a log away from completing his big order when a boat crash stops him in his tracks. Up north, Gabe Rygaard unleashes fury on his own crew when he catches them doing a favor for the Oakes team. On Alaska's Kupreanof Island, Joe employs a dangerous strategy to make up for their slow yarder engineer. On Florida's St. Johns River, the Chapman crew closes in on the Dreadknots' lead. And a mistake forces the Ax Cut crew to log into the night, desperately trying to finish up their order.

In the season finale, battles and fortunes are all on the line. On Alaska's Kupreanof Island, a chainsaw accident leaves the crew short-handed on the last and most dangerous site of the season. In Washington, Gabe Rygaard's ferocious push to move the final loads proves too dangerous when Jason flips a loaded trailer. In the Bayou, it's Shelby's big day as he heads to the mill to find out if he's successfully filled his 200,000 board foot order. And down on Florida's St. Johns River, Greg's mistake could cost his crew a victory over the Dreadknots when a broken propeller leaves them dead in the water.