TV Worth Watching! The real deal cowboy life - in a full episode of Today's Wild West !

[Music] I'm Mark the door at mcgury ranches in the mountains of Idaho where you can experience the real deal Cowboy Life we'll show you plus recreating Western history at the Shiloh Sharps rifle company and they are very period correct we're the only company in the world whose Parts interchange with the originals and the custom boot maker to the working Cowboy Seth tiger and working Cowboys they'll spend money on saddles on headgear for a horse on boots it's all next today's Wild West the Wild West it's still out there we'll show you how to find it this is today's Wild West chasing cows in the rugged mountains of Idaho rassling calves at branding time Welcome to the Real Deal Cowboy life at McGary ranches in Rexburg Idaho spend a week with the mcgary's gets kind of Western out here doesn't it does and you're guaranteed to work hard get dirty and live the life of a working Cowboy everybody thinks were crazy but for Brooks and Beth May it's the perfect vacation that we come out here and we actually pay somebody to to work on their on their range the Kentucky couple are here for the 10th time in the last8 years it was love at first sight people come from all over the country and all over the world to experience the real deal Cowboy life at McGary ranches it was very evident the very first day that this was no show this was a real way of life these were real cowboys and cowg girls the mcgary's have been running cattle in this country ever since Henry McGary first arrived here in the 1880s family patriarch th McGary Henry's great-grandson opened up the ranch to guests about 25 years ago and while mcgary's is a member of the dude ranchers Association there's only one activity here do whatever it takes to keep the ranch running that day from the back of a horse that we don't get up every morning think oh gosh we got gas now how do we entertain them we just get up we got something to do and they're going with us this is Annie Annie hi Annie most days start the same way saddling horses guests are up at 6:00 eat breakfast at 7:00 saddle at 8:00 load up the horse trailer head for the mountains with a Gary's run about 1,000 cow CAF pairs on 55,000 Acres of ranching leases in the Caribou targi National Forest that's about 100 Mil Southwest of Yellowstone National Park today's Mission track down a dozen cow CAF pairs round them up and vaccinate and brand the Cales but before we go looking for the cattle we need to set up a branding Corral no corals up here tall so we just have to set up our own it's no easy task but everybody pitches in and as usual that includes ther's extended family theen son-in-law right-hand man and head Wrangler Dirk Morton is joined by his daughter Courtney her husband Kyle and their son Carson a future rodeo star who's already riding miniature bulls and winning Buckles at the tender age of 12 that's pretty cool huh yeah you're probably the only bull rider in your class I'll bet yep I am I keep wanting him to rope more than he wants to ride Bulls but I can't seem to win in that category yet so you like getting in and kind of thinking like how's this going to end up kind of yeah we' told him if he's if he's riding rough stock though he has to rope he likes the Bulls better yeah he likes the Bulls better how do you feel about that you know I'm all right with it we've kept him pretty safe the safe is can be you know so far but Rodeo runs in the family Durk is a seven times Idaho stayed bear bag champion and every one of his five kids have won their own saddles in Rodeo competitions the family's roping skills will come in handy today but first we got to find those cows bring them back to here we'll go down and start Gathering these right here and see what we got Durk and Kyle Take the Lead as we head out to search hey Kyle did you guys go right or left where this Fork is every Rider's saddle is outfitted with a walkie-talkie to keep in touch in this rugged country Courtney knows it well she was barely out of her toddler years when she started coming up here with Grandpa you kind of grow up out here with Grandpa yep yep I did four or five I'd probably say even before we can really ride we'd go pack salt with Grandpa there in and ride the pack horse you know and sit on the gosh I forget like the tree of the saddle and then you'd have the salt you know and their feet would just be on it and yeah it was fun F so today she still rides with Granddad whenever she can usually about once a week Carson comes even more often and other family members love to saddle up to help out whenever they can people always comment how close our family is but we we're always doing a lot of things together well you do step together cuz you're always doing something fun together yeah that's true yeah we think it's fun so how many families get to go chase cows together right yeah we have a rodeo star yeah they do everything together everybody goes to the mountain everybody pitches in when they brand the family is a big part of the attraction for Beth and Brooks who feel like they've been adopted you know we get very close these people spending a lot of times you it's like they are mod is you know you come as guest and leave as family and and I guess that's kind of the way it is you know it's easy to feel connected here McGary Ranch is only takes 10 guests at a time usually adults only and you better like to ride in fact Ranch guests SP so much time in the saddle they're assigned two horses for the week changing mounts every other day to give those hardworking animals the rest they need most every horse is a registered quarter horse and the Saddles intact are top quality a lot of them is handmade Saddles syrups are turned so the people's knees and ankles don't bother them and we want them so they're as comfortable as they can be you get equipment that's nice for them to ride it helps immensely we find most of the cows we're looking for but one pair remains missing no luck here come I didn't even see a track they got to be up there or in here somewhere but I don't know where we'll go brand the ones we got back at the Corral the air is soon filled with swinging lariats the sound of bellowing cows and the smell of burning hair as roping dragging and branding gets underway according one her saddle Team Roping and we can all see why I know I have to show these boys how it's done sometimes you know no we're glad you do we get done faster J this mother of four is a pretty good shot Carson Kyle and Dirk get their share too Hired Hand Charlie Jones heads up the ground crew throwing roped Cavs to the ground not an easy job Beth applies the vaccine shot Brooks jumps in too St and handles The Branding Iron I know people are going to ask why do you have to Brand well because we run in big open range and without that there's no way to identify we mix with other people's cattle and so in order to be able to prove ownership to them you brand them you can do as much or as little of this as you want or just watch it's what you make it if you go home without a Bruiser or scratch you ain't had any fun finally we get her done at least as far as The Branding goes we still have to tear down the portable and very heavy Corral Gates then load up the horses you do that easy huh yeah they're ready to go they're tired for the day that's a good job to have done if your idea of a vacation is a cool drink on a beach this may not be your cup of tea but Brooks and Beth wouldn't have it any other way got your vacation's worth today h yes got our money's worth today there's no question if you want to experience the real deal that's it that it don't get don't get more real than that after a great day of chasing cows in the spectacular Idaho mountains you'll turn to your comfortable cabin here at Ranch headquarters where you can kick back for a few minutes before joining your new friends for a delicious home-cooked dinner and trust me you will sleep well more to come tomorrow when we're back in the saddle for a kettle drive back in the saddle again along the picturesque Snake River M Gary ranches began running cows in this National Forest before it was National Forest but today they're careful to to comply with the terms of their grazing permit which requires the ranchers to be up here 6 days a week come on let's go rotating their cows to different sections to make sure no one area gets overg grazed that means rounding at the cattle driving them miles away to New Pasture that's the job today where we heading Dirk Woods Canyon so with Dirk leading the way rodeo star Carson is back for the ride plus Brooks and Beth and my wife Marland and I what's the plan I'll run down and grab these just hold them here okay and we'll get them and we'll go right back up the way we came obviously this is not wide openen prairie and finding cattle in this rugged country and keeping them moving on the trail can be quite the challenge but it doesn't take Dirk and Carson long to find their cows and head Wrangler comes charging back at a Gallop to cut off the leaders and keep his herd going in the right direction which will not be easy when what are we doing we're going to take him up this Trail right here hey up we're taking the cattle up a steep Trail through thick Woods while trying to keep them from escaping into the brush and then Maryland come down after them that's where those cow dogs are in their keep rousting cows from even the toughest hiding places always fun to watch those guys work come here come herey no denying this is tough country for cowboying but what an office this is beautiful [Music] land and the cattle are good for it grazing keeps the brush down keeping the forest healthy and cutting down on the potential fuel for destructive Wildfire it's good for ranchers too there plenty of grass water for the cattle however what's worked for ranchers is a dream for many of the rest of us living the cowboy life and riding with the mcgary's is not just another trail ride Badger you're an awesome horse buddy we we go up there to do something you know and uh we're either up moving cows or we're taking them off one place changing pastures or kicking them off some ground they're getting fed off a little too much putting them in the area where there is more feed and and I think that is we go up there the purpose it's not just go up to kill the day to entertain the guest you know we go up there to to accomplish something sometimes we don't get accomplished what we do the others I've had several guests say one thing about it is challenging and it is when you're addling cattle cattle up in that kind of country we run in it is challenge you know this is riding with a purpose doing a job that has to be done and that's a big attraction even to Serious horse people I know a lot of them say boy it's you're going to be going to ruin our trail riding at home cuz it'll be pretty dull there you know so for Brooks and Beth coming to McGary ranches has been lifechanging sold our house in the city and bought a small farm out in the country and bought a couple of horses and got some chickens and and we thoroughly enjoy uh getting out there and working on the farm and not getting caught up in in a lot of the things that we used to get caught up in there's no denying it's hard work and labor intensive but it's also a big change of pace from life back back home and sitting at a desk it is fun to watch these guys work Durk is a real Pro and most of us will never be the cowboy Carson already is at the age of 12 but the fact is guests like Brooks and Beth become a vital part of the operation now it's to be on that trail down there okay after coming here for years they know the drill know what to do and get the job done you take light Brooks a bath there people that's been here and kind of learn the country you know and and we get a lot of L of people have their own horses if they come up here like they say we we we can ride a little around home but we can't ride and do the kind of things that we do up here it takes all day that's okay a chance to spend hours in the saddle on a great horse in the American West is why we all came here Trails End finally we reach our destination the cows go through the gate mission accomplished go home without a Bruiser or scratch he ain't had any fun well we've had a couple of those today I guess we've had fun today and I'm glad it's been a most exciting day a true Western experience here today yeah there's no question about that we ride back to the truck and head for home Carson you shoeing horses yet Carson's the right size cuz you don't have to bend over right it's family night back at the ranch theen kids grandkids and great grandkids are here for a hot dog cookout and like little Blaze every single one of them seems to grow up with a rope in their hands after more than a hundred years it doesn't look like the mcgary's are going to run out of cowboys in each time soon yeah I think so I don't think there's a problem and that's great news for guests like Brooks and Beth who get to be part of the family and live their Cowboy Dream whenever they swing into the saddle in theary ranches in Rexburg Idaho coming up you'll meet another Idaho cowboy who moonlights as a custom boot maker but first the Montana company recreating the historic Sharps Buffalo Gun and their surprising customers now we have one like it which is this one right here it's the big rifle that co-starred with Tom celic in quigly down under and it was made in the small town of Big Timber Montana yeah we did quigle um we built for Dances with Wolves Crossfire Trail and W herb all of those guns were built from raw steel and wood at the Shiloh Sharps rifle company for 40 years family owned Shiloh Sharps has been recreating the guns used by the Buffalo Hunters of the 1800s and they are very period correct where only company in the world whose Parts interchange with the originals and these prized rifles are coveted by buyers all over the world people are like history and people like to compete some people hunt with them other people hang them on the wall and never shoot them the guns made here at shallow sharps are exactly the same as the ones made back in the 1800s like this 1874 model owned by famous Frontier photographer LA Huffman it's the exact same rifle you see in this historic photograph and one of several Museum quality pieces displayed in the Shiloh showroom so this is the found but what most people never get to see is how these rifles are created you have a master from carved hardwood we start out with Virgin bars at 4140 Chrome oi and molten steel pot here will melt 30 lbs of this every 4 and 1/2 minutes Kirk Bryan took time out of his very busy day to give us a fascinating tour of the factory beginning in The Foundry those will be grip caps the parts are created with wax moles the same process used when a bronze sculpture is cast these here are some butt plates what you ended up with there a piece of Steel that looked like the ceramic tree this is a 74 Sharps receiver these will get buzz cut off of here these are the castings that we just seen next door they'll be putting these CNC machines we'll come out looking like this all the holes are drilled threaded Shiloh used reverse engineering to discover how the old guns were made to make historically accurate replicas high-tech equipment is of course used today but much of the meticulous craftsmanship is still done by hand and here's what some people have this one here's got gold inlay there's a buffalo on this side a wolf on that side it's like a work of art mhm and that's all done by hand hammer and chisel this is the woodwork these accent lines this is all hand filed if a person wants a double TR a finish and they're put back together and hand sanded with thousand grit and oil until they get a nice Sheen and all the pores are filled this is the area where the final gun's assembled inspected and final taged before it gets shipped out of here on to its new customer and when you get done this is what your final product is every gun is different base price for a shallow Sharps rifle is $1900 people start putting a lot of gold and platinum in them will go you know 10 12,000 while some of these guns go up on a wall and will never be fired a growing number of men and women of all ages compete with these rifles in Long Range target shooting firing at Targets more than 800 yards away using nothing more than the old iron sights of the 1800s it's different it's a history it's not uh when you're shooting it's not like going out with the high-powered Scopes and and everything when you hit a Target at 500 yards with iron sights and it goes down you get a little excited cuz it's just I mean it's iron sight Kirk their brother and sister both enjoy competing when they can but it's just the fun because Kirk is my spotter I shoot I spot he shoots and so it's kind of a if he does well and you're spotting I mean it's a it's a team effort so you feel good at the end of the day if he comes out and gets first second place you just feel like you accomplish something I shot these photos for a magazine story at the annual Matthew Quigley Buffalo rifle match outside foresight Montana the latest competition attracted more than 600 shooters from 37 States and four foreign countries all over the United States you can uh anym pretty much shoot anywhere every weekend the guns are used for hunting as well including modern-day buffalo hunting but like most things out west the best part of it all are the people you meet just the people that we meet all over the world my brother and I my Mom and Dad we you know my brother and I travel to the shows we shoot together as a team and I think it's just kind of that our kids grew up that way with us they set targets it's been a neat way of life Lucen and her brother run Shiloh Sharps with their semi-retired parents mom still works in the office and dad still helps out in the shop and it's a family business we work all day together and we play at nights business is good Shiloh has a Year's worth of backlogged orders when the doors close we're family when we're here it's business and a unique business it is recreating a piece of history from the old west a good pair of boots are a tool of the trade for the working cowboy and for some there's nothing like a handmade pair from Idaho working Cowboy Seth tiger I love it I love the finished product when it turns out right in the garage of a home on a Windswept cattle ranch outside Mackie Idaho you'll find the custom boot shop of cowboy Seth tiger I'm not in it for really the money it's a fun hobby for me it's not like he needs a hobby to fill his time Seth is a married father of four children runs a working cattle ranch spends hours is volunteering at his church enjoys hunting and sports shooting but just for fun builds custom cowboy boots I can't sit around and do nothing sitting down watching TV bores me um I can't sit around I have to be doing something when he has to spare a moment which isn't too often he heads to the garage to build Boots the old school way handmade and stitched together with vintage equipment these machines here are are the finishers this is the buffer I don't know a year on these but they're very old I'm guessing 30s probably 1930s this is a soul Stitcher um big heavy machine weighs about 800 lb and it'll Stitch through the sole and the welth of a boot difficult to run this thing kind of runs the shop it's it's the boss of the shop it's a 1929 is when it was made a little singer 3115 stitches like it's brand new the old machines feel good and they don't cost as much money it all started by accident I liked playing with leather I always knew that like just doing little leather projects and I was searching for a leather sewing machine I call the guy he says I'm actually a boot repair shop long story short I ended up buying the shop the working Cowboy had long been buying his own boots from a custom boot shop in duboy Idaho run by Steven Bev gilger so I told them I bought a boot repair shop and they said well what are you going to do with the machines I said that's a great question I don't know and they offered me a paid apprenticeship newly married Seth and his bride moved into the apartment above the boot shop where he spent the next seven months learning the craft of building boots great experience learned a lot they're still good friends today we still talk they just they still coach me along and help me fast forward a couple of years and Seth is managing the ranch in Mackie but still working on boots learning through seminars classes and videos and after lots of trial and error he finally started getting the hang of it that's kind of how I got my start just here at the ranch in the evenings as I had time I'd go fiddle with boots and um got to where I was pretty comfortable with it and started taking some orders and the orders have kind of taken off a lot of people call an order and it's quite a process starting with what's known as a last you shape it to the person's foot off of the foot measurements build up with leather where you need to to shape that foot and then you you build the boot around that then you have to cut the custom designed leather pattern for the upper part of the boot what I'll do is I make a cardboard pattern of and I'd use his foot measurements and then I cut out my top pattern so I'm going to cut this cross out in Gray and put it on the on the top here and then he wants red stitching around that and so it's going to be a black gray and red pair of boots he's very particular on what he wants when it's all sewn together the boot gets mounted on the last this pair right here is for a local Rancher uh one of the neighbors this will be his second pair this is a matching pair to his first pair water buffalo bottoms and a kangaroo top um it's at the stage it was just recently lasted it's still wet Seth uses lemon wood pegs to mount the boot instead of nails your boots are going to get wet out working that's just the long and the short of it these will swell tighten the boot less chance of leaking dirt a nail will Rust cause a little bit bigger hole and over time they start to let go when you start getting dirt leaking in and water leaking in then comes the welt is this part here that's that goes around and that's what the soul will so to Seth calls good quality material the key to a well-built boot this is the insole I use a good thick leather insole and a lot of a lot of boots are still made with these and you look for that um really helps the longevity of a boot you wind up with beautiful handcrafted custom boots that fit and last but they're not cheap typically 1,200 to $2,000 a pair and I've had people that have questioned me on boots I like a pair of boots and they hear 650 their jaw hits the floor they're they're really really amazed at what they cost but for a working Cowboy expensive well-made boots are actually cheaper the lifespan you get out of a pair of of custom or handmade boots is so much longer than a pair of factory boots that you can just buy off the shelf at a store uh and that's how you justify that price if you're one of Seth's children boots are free when you turn three and that's their own we don't pass them down to the next kid that's their boot that I just I hope they keep the rest of their lives and go that was my first pair from dad takes about 40 hours for Seth to build a pair of boots even longer for the fancier ones so 1,000 bucks or more which of course includes the cost of materials isn't much profit that is a lot of money for a working Cowboy but a good pair of boots is a critical tool of the trade for the guys who make their living on the back of a horse and working Cowboys they'll spend money on saddles on headgear for a horse on boots things that they need to have good you can go buy a factory saddle also and they don't last they don't hold up you get a bull rope you break the tree what good was that you saved money on the purchase price but you lost money in the long run working Cowboys are as main clientele and there's nothing more satisfying than a satisfied customer I love it go to a branding and there's six or eight pair of my boots running around The Branding it's neat to see that and they're they're holding up and nobody's cussing at me too bad because they hurt their feet unfortunately if you want a pair of cess boots you're out of luck at least for now the waiting list is so long 4 and 1/2 years that he's quit taking orders but for those lucky enough to snag a pair they're worth the wait yeah it takes a long time I'm about 40 hours in a plain pair of boots like this you get into some of the fancier boots there's more time but the end products if you take your time and do each step right and I think that would apply to about anything in life if you do each step correctly you're going to end up with the product you like that's it for now we're back next time with more cool stuff from today's Wild West I'm Mark bador we'll see you down the trail for more information on the people in places featured in today wild west or to order Show DVDs and books visit today's wild west.com [Music]