Anybody seen the preview or first episode? The guy in Montana uses a Ruger No. 1, though I don't yet know the caliber.

Just got done suffering the first show. Thought it was in the same category as the guys looking for Bigfoot.

Watched the first episode last night.
Where do they find these dingbats?
Anyway don't think I'll be upset if I miss the rest of the series..

Probably won't watch again. Not that interesting.

Were they playing banjos?

Being close friends with Marty Meierotto - and then seeing all the fake melodrama inserted into each episode by the producers - it is a wonder how anyone can watch those things. The truth is a whole lot more interesting.

And Marty does know the caliber of "BoneCrusher" his 358 Norma mag.

Wondering about one of his rifles. Yet to get a good look at it. It appears to be a Ruger 10/22 with a laminate camo stock. Just have seen bits and pieces. What has me puzzled is in one quick shot with the gun on his back the bore looked way larger than 22. Wondering what I am seeing. Thinking maybe a custom stocked Ruger 44 carbine??? If it is wondering where he got the stock.

As for the show it sucks. Wish they would try actual documentary type shows. They might find they would have large audience even without all the dramatic bullchit.

I'm into the mountain man era. Those 3 guys aren't mountain men. They're just 3 clowns living in the mountains.

I was wondering the same thing about his rifle, at first blush I too thought it was a 10/22, but then later on I thought maybe a 44 also. It's be neat to know.

I liked the show. My son and his family know the fellow from NC. They have been to Turtle Island several times. People pay him to work on that farm and do all his crap chores. He's pretty smart.

Quote: "Where do they find these dingbats?" .458 kind of answered it. TV producers take some real folks and then fine tune the scripts to conform to the LA or NYC conception of what the city folks think the "hicks" should be. I suspect all the central figures are pretty good folks, but the pay is likely pretty good to act like whatever the producer wants. jack

I just about came unglued as I watched it last night (6/14). Eustace wounded a deer and then bitched about his rifle (a Ruger #1) "misfiring." Where I come from, a "misfire" is when the gun fails to go "bang". A miss or a bad hit ain't no freakin' "misfire." Of course he blamed the "misfire" on the kid that supposedly zeroed his rifle. They showed the kid shooting a Winchester 94 Black Shadow .30/30, a Remington Jam-O-Matic, and a Marlin rimfire but never a #1. Of course that could just be the editing but they never showed the kid with the Ruger. At any rate, don't bitch about your rifle "misfiring" when you put a bullet in the deer's guts! I was somewhat surprised to even see him shooting a #1. That makes two on the show so far.

Why would you trust someone else to sight your rifle?

Saw one of the shows tonight. Eustace and his hippies cut firewood.

By the sound of it we don't have to worry about the grizzlies going extinct up around Libby, MT. Sounds like they are all over the country up their according to the show.

Watching that gorp was 1 hour wasted from my life. I'll not waste another.

I keep thinking that there will be something to make the show worth watching, but alas, no joy. Eustace driving nails into the tree to build his deer stand is a no-no where I come from and then there is those people working for room and board just to learn how to be like him. He must grow some good weed up on that mountain. miles

Ditto whats been said. The show sucked, and one of those idiots will end up winning the Darwin award very soon.

You would be dead by morning if you tried what Marty does out there. He can't help what they do with the film and narration. The other 2 are hardly in the wilderness and wilderness in Alaska is a completely different animal than in the lower 48.

did a trail ride over in the mountains last weekend, our guide for the couple hour ride was a younger gal and her and i got to discussing the show, our thought is the guy in Montana needs to move somewhere where there are no griz.....she lives around them in the southeast part of the state near Yellowstone and helps wrangle horses in the fall heading out on pack trips after elk and she is far less worried about griz than he is......she sees them regularly, she has the utmost respect for them and what they can do but she doesnt worry about them every moment they leave the house like the Montana guy seems to going by what he is saying.....assuming its not scripted which it prolly is....

they're not that thick. just thick enough.
by the way they are 12 feet from my sliding glass door.
yes a little pucker factor.

Marty wrote some really good articles in fur-fish and game years ago. "bonecrusher" made me want a 358 norma mag bad.

It's a good show. I've followed it since season 1.

Marty truly is the real deal and has been running his winter trapline for probably close to 20 years but his trapping has certainly suffered by having the film crews around. As you might have noticed, he doesn't actually catch or kill anything when they are there. It's not in the script !!! Just make believe melodrama.

Phil, is that your boy who was flying Marty's family out to stay at his trapper's cabin? I don't watch the show, but my wife watches anything that involves Alaska and I caught that part.

I do hope these guys are getting paid some decent money for this stuff, because for the most part they seem to be making them look like quite the fools.

Waiting to see Phil staring in a show real soon......seems like killing Brown Bears is the hot stuff for reality shows lately (Kodiak, The Hunt, etc.)

I watched part of one episode last year. I felt my IQ going down so I changed the channel.

I watch the show for the scenery.. beautiful views. I will most likely never make it to northwest Montana, northern Maine, much less Alaska. I just try to look past the ridiculous scripting and melodrama.

I will say that Marty and Tom seem like a couple of fellers I'd like to meet and spend some time around. I think one could learn a lot from those two.

What is the true number of grizzlies in the lower 48?

Yea, that is my son who does all the flying for Marty's show. Marty is an excellent pilot and recently got his Commercial and Flight Instructor's ratings so he can fly for the Alaska Smokejumpers when he finally can't pass the physical. He is one tough and competent guy, but the TV folks will not allow him to fly his own family during the show due to their high insurance liability clause.
He is certainly not getting rich from the show, it maybe pays about what he used to make trapping ( when they actually let him trap) but he still gets to be a real trapper for most of the winter and then fights fires all summer.

I Like Tom and Marty but don't care much for Eustice or the screaming cat hounder.

The new father and son in NM are not bad either. You can really tell the producers work overtime to create reality.

Phil,

There are two programs now that are based around hunting Kodiak, "The Hunt" and "Kodiak". Do you know any of these folks?

We have never owned a TV, ( any surprise ? ) and the only time we see any show is when we happen to be visiting someone. I don't know who are on the Kodiak shows you mention but I know most of the guides and understand that Dick and Sam Roher have a show.
I also know a few of the others who have shows as Taj flies for some of them as well.

Phil - What you say about Marty adds up for sure. I always thought he was the real deal. Glad to hear you confirm it!

No, No there isn't any surprise there.

The "Kodiak" Discovery channel is pretty hokie and features guides Bob May, Ernie Holland, and Bob Cusack.

"The Hunt" History channel which isn't too bad features guides Mike Horstman, Mike Carlson, Frank Sanders, and Sam Rohrer

It's a Browning 1885. Rugers don't have a hammer.

Mike Horstman LOOKS like the real deal.

I have only met Mike a couple of times but he is a close friend of my son's and he too is the real deal.

I like the show, though there are folks I could certainly do without. Eustace is one. The guy that's a trapper but fell off his snow machine is another. I like Marty and the old guy in Montana, seems like a pretty nice guy, and must be pretty talented with his leather and bow making. The guy that chases mtn lions but doesn't want to shoot them seems weird but it could be strict seasons for all I know. Having lived in NM years and years ago, I found the native guy and his grandson interesting as well. Obviously the stuff isn't real and I think it could be a better show if they stuck to real stuff but the guy from Outdoor life that went out to visit Marty was pretty impressed with his abilities for sure. Have no doubt he's the real McCoy.

I watch the Tom and Marty parts of the show only. What did it for me was that Rich cougar boy. As he's packing up his horses he states it takes 7 hrs on horse to reach his very remote cabin.

Then he states it takes 3 days to walk in. A minute later it shows him walking down a hill from his so called very remote cabin to a road to confront a guy in a white Dodge diesel.

Anyone else catch that one?

This plus 10 Mountain Men they ain't. Old Gabe would have a good laugh.

Ellie!!!

around 1500, doesnt sound like alot but Alaska only has about 30,000....truthfully they could have opened limited hunting in Montana and Wyoming a decade or more ago....they are expanding their range at a pretty impressive rate...