Ax Men

A Reality TV show airing in The History Channel, starting in 2008. Tells the story of several different logging crews struggling to fell trees and ship them off to sawmills. Originally set in Washington and Oregon, it has since expanded into other parts of North America, including Alaska, Southwestern Canada, Florida and Louisiana.

Quickly fell into Docu Soap territory.

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Tropes featured on this series:

• Alaska: Starting with season 4, Papac Alaska Logging operates on the islands of Southeast Alaska.
• The Alleged Car: Numerous examples of questionable machines. Some standout examples:
  • Some of the yarders and other machines these guys use don't seem very reliable.
  • Shelby's forklift, or his jet boat.
• Badass Grandpa:
  • Craig Rygaard may be over 60 but quickly recovers from being knocked over by a swinging loader.
  • J. M. Browning is in his 70's(?) but until the end of season 4, he was still actively logging. With only 1 hand and 1 finger!
• Camera Abuse: Cameras are routinely bashed and have trees and/or branches dropped on them or are otherwise mistreated and trashed. Sometimes the operators as well.
• Canada, Eh?: Season 4 featured a Canadian crew using a barge to gain access to a remote island off the coast of British Columbia.
• Chainsaw Good: If time is money, then a chainsaw is the only economical way to fell trees, remove branches, or cut logs to length.
• Cool Airship: A strange example. In seasons 2 and 3, R & R Conner Aviation from Conner, MT and their UH1 Huey helicopter, flying logs from the woods to the landing down near the road.
• Cool Car: After Gabe Rygaard accidentally flattens the SUV belonging to one of his employees, he loans the guy his late model Mustang for the evening so he can go on a date.

"I'm getting laid tonight."

• Determinator: These guys are tough.
• Dysfunctional Family: Several. Some worse than others. Especially the S&S Aqua Logging crew.
  • The Rygaards aren't much better, just that they seem to have realized how much they actually despise each other and thus limit their interaction.
• Everything Trying to Kill You:
  • Multi-ton logs being dragged up and down steep hillsides and random bits of tree hanging by hair triggers in the branches of other trees (Widowmakers).
  • Starting in season 3, alligators and poisonous snakes.
  • Thanks to steep, rocky mountainside logging sites, falling boulders.
  • Not to mention the hazards produced by the machines...
• Handicapped Badass: J. M. Browning lost most of one hand in an accident with a pulley. He just straps on a prosthetic and keeps on felling trees.
• Injury Tropes:
  • These (mostly) men are working in the logging industry. Second only to offshore fishing on the list of most hazardous jobs in the United States. Injuries are a given.
  • One logger finished one season with a full set of teeth only to start the next season missing 2 to 4 front teeth due to an off-season fishing accident.
• Jittercam: Small Point Of View cameras attached to various objects that tend to be either highly mobile (chainsaws) or are supposed to be very stable (yarder towers) but aren't.
• More Dakka: Shelby Stanga.
  • His answer to dangerous critters in the swamp.
  • Shelby's default celebration mode.
  • Also one of Shelby's buddies in the swamp with an AK47 one day.
• Mundane Utility: Shelby using his long-barreled pistol as a lever to help fell a tree.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Shelby Stanga and his swamp buggy... thing, driving over his own trailer, where he kept some of his tools.
• No Indoor Voice: Jimmy Smith of S&S Aqua Logging tends to do a lot of screaming. His son, James is shown to be fed up with it.
• Rant-Inducing Slight: At least once an episode for most of the crews. Pretty much once per scene for S&S Aqua Logging.
  • One of the most memorable is probably the absolute tantrum the younger Rygaard boss threw when he discovered one of the chainsaws had been broken. While it was an expensive piece of equipment, he literally behaved like a small child throwing a fit. Still probably doesn't measure up to his father at one point getting a relatively minor bit of bad news over the phone, then throwing his cellphone on the ground, getting out his gun, and shooting the phone repeatedly.
• Stuff Blowing Up: How some Canadian and Alaskan loggers fell trees and build roads into the woods.
• Team Pet: Stanga's dog, Willy.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: There are several father-son teams on this series and it it played straight from time to time. It's usually inverted. Mostly by Jimmy Smith of the S&S Aqua Logging crew.
• What a Piece of Junk!: Rygaard's Green Bean yarder.