In early November, the HISTORY Channel aired a new TV series called Mountain Men: Ultimate Marksman. The show tests some of the world’s top marksmen and markswomen on their knowledge of primitive weapons by navigating several distance, precision and obstacle challenges designed to see if they could survive as mountain men did on the American frontier during the 19th century. Each week, four experts compete in challenges utilizing historical weapons — firearms, edged weapons and bows — and the techniques that mountain men employed to survive. Each episode will focus on different components of mountain men life. The individual who earns the highest total points will receive $10,000 and be crowned the “Ultimate Marksman.” Who doesn’t love history meshed with real-life competition?

World Cowboy Action shooting champion Mark Romano, one of the show’s two hosts, and historical firearms expert Ashley Hlebinsky, a consulting producer and writer on the series, offer a behind-the-scenes look at the research conducted, talk about mountain men life and training during the 19th century, and discuss why the show is unique.

Ashley Hlebinsky

Ashley Hlebinsky is a museum and history consultant, author and expert witness who specializes in firearms history. Mountain Men: Ultimate Marksman isn’t her first foray into TV.

“Any time that I have an opportunity to work on a historical show for any network, I really kind of jump at the opportunity because it shows everyone’s enthusiasm to really get the history right and make it as authentic as possible,” she said.

Ashley collaborated with a team of researchers from Warm Springs Productions (the production company behind the show) to uncover the best possible historical examples of mountain men using weapons. The production company leaned on Ashley’s expertise to ensure they were presenting historically accurate information to viewers.

“Because I have the background information coming into it, I really played a role in kind of vetting what they were interested in doing, coming up with ideas and then letting them kind of run with it,” she stated. “I’m great at providing the history and coming up with lots of ideas, but they know how to actually make it work.”

Ashley said that in terms of training, mountain men of the past regularly worked on their weapons skills.

“At the mountain men rendezvous they were trading and conducting business, [and] they were also doing shooting competitions,” she stated.

The gatherings enabled them to sharpen their skills.

The show is not only about experts competing to see if they have what it takes to survive like the mountain men, but it’s also about educating viewers about American life on the frontier and the trials these men and women faced.

“I love when you take modern people and you put them through the cases of the historic past,” Ashley said. “I think it makes history come to life. And I think that’s awesome.”

Mark Romano

Mark Romano has been cowboy shooting for roughly two decades. The decorated marksman is also a college professor. He has a knack for explaining things consciously and clearly, so he’s a natural fit for the show.

He said Americans are fascinated with what drove the United States to become such a unique, independent nation. Firearms played a crucial role in that history. For the mountain men, staying alive was a daily proposition.

“[T]here were no rules,” he stated. “There was only the ability of an individual to take care of himself or herself. And if you could pass that particular test, congratulations, you survived, and we’re mentioning your name today.”

“If you didn’t make it,” he continued, “then we don’t know your name and we’re not talking about you. So, these had to be tough, motivated individuals. They had to know how to use the tools that they used. And they had to be as good or better than the challenges they faced.”

In the pre-industrial revolution era, if someone wanted food, he or she had to farm or hunt. Mark indicated that on the American frontier, weapons training was simply participating in daily life.

“[Y]ou only had what you could carry, so you had to be efficient with what you used. And this was not just the point of pride; this was the means by which you literally stayed alive or failed to,” he stated. “You go to the shooting range if you are shooting. For these guys, if you want to eat, you better go hunting every Thursday.”

Americans love competition, and this show delivers.

“It is not like any other show,” Mark stated. “These people are taking on incredibly difficult challenges, and it’s their skill set against the challenge, and against each other.”

Where You Can Watch Mountain Men: Ultimate Marksman

It’s wonderful to see two individuals so knowledgeable and passionate about history involved in the production of content that will reach and educate many people about firearms history. Stream previously aired episodes of Mountain Men: Ultimate Marksman online at History.com. The HISTORY Channel hasn’t announced a second season yet, but I believe the future looks bright for the show.

Did You Know…

Jim Bridger is one of the most well-known mountain men of the 19th century for good reason. In 1822, he left St. Louis, Missouri, at the age of 21 and headed up the Missouri River into uncharted territory. Bridger established a fur-trading post, named after him, in Wyoming along the Oregon Trail in 1843. The trailblazer spent decades hunting, trapping, fur trading and guiding on the American frontier. He impressed many individuals who met him, including Maj. Gen. Grenville M. Dodge.

“I found Bridger a very companionable man,” Dodge wrote in 1904. “In person he was over six feet tall, spare, straight as an arrow, agile, rawboned and of powerful frame, eyes gray, hair brown and abundant even in old age, expression mild and manners agreeable.”

Dodge was equally impressed with Bridger’s qualities as his appearance.

“Naturally shrewd, and possessing keen faculties of observation,” he continued, “[Bridger] carefully studied the habits of all the animals, especially the beaver, and, profiting from the knowledge obtained from the Indians, with whom he chiefly associated, and with whom he became a great favorite, he soon became one of the most expert hunters and trappers in the mountains.”

Dodge felt that such a remarkable man should not be lost to history, so he had an impressive monument erected over Bridger’s grave 23 years after the mountain man’s death.

Further Reading

Dodge, Grenville M. “James Bridger.” In The Magazine of History With Notes and Queries, July-December 1915, 1-24. Vol. 22. Poughkeepsie and Tarrytown, NY: William Abbatt, 1915.