Moonshiners (2011–…): Season 2, Episode 3 - Moonshiner Vs. Hogzilla - full transcript

Narrator:
Tonight on "Moonshiners"...

It's beam-setting day.

My dog's running
Around here.

You'd have hit cutie pie,

Me and you'd have been
Scrapping, son.

We got to figure out how we're
Gonna do this really fast.

Josh: look out.

Bill: take the swing
Out of that thing.

Are you smoking crack
Or what?

Vince: ho, ho, ho!
It's going! Watch out!

Watch out, watch out,
Watch out, watch out!



Whoa, josh!

[ clears throat ]

Tim: this is the best stuff
I ever made.

This is high-dollar stuff
Right here.

We're talking about $150
A gallon right here.

[ hog grunting ]

Mark:
That's him.

Chuck: fire!

Mark: moonshine is a part
Of our history.

It exists, but it doesn't,
Almost like a myth.

[ dog barks ]

Tim: I'm america's
Most-wanted moonshiner.

[ laughs ]

Tickle:
That's not a good feeling
To be wanted by the law.



Don:
I live on the edge of anarchy.

Chuck:
Police! Search warrant!

It's very hard
To catch moonshiners.

Let's skedaddle.

They're very smart.

Josh:
There can only be one chief.

I'm wondering if we're gonna
Pull this thing off.

Uh-oh.

Golly, that's good.

Jeff: we could supply
The whole world with moonshine,

And everybody would be happy.

Bill:
If you really love your country,

You're gonna have to
Love moonshine.

[ camera shutter clicking ]

Narrator: moonshiner tim

Has been
Under constant surveillance

By virginia's abc.

He knows they could be
Anywhere, watching.

It's been a relentless pursuit

That has left him with no other
Option but to go legal.

But like all good moonshiners,

Tim is never
Without a backup plan.

Tim: this is the best stuff
I ever made.

This is high-dollar stuff
Right here.

We're talking about $150
A gallon right here.

Narrator:
Tim has hidden his moonshine

In a old virginia-style
Tobacco barn.

He's taking advantage

Of one of this building's
Extraordinary features --

An underground cellar

Growers once used to store
Their tobacco.

But tim has actually taken it
A step further.

He dug into the wall
Of the barn's cellar,

Creating a storage space that's
Hidden by a layer of dirt.

But the cellar itself
Is only accessible

Through a trap door
In the barn floor --

Double protection
Against anybody

Snooping around
For a stash of moonshine.

Tim: all these jugs -- it's
Kind of an insurance policy.

If I get in trouble
Or get in a tight spot,

I can grab some of this stuff
And sell it right quick.

Narrator: his tax-free stash
Is worth well over $10,000.

First, I got to protect my
Family, I got to protect tickle.

I feel like running it sometime,
I got to move it.

The abc agency looking
At every building.

You never know.
Guys may get lucky.

If I got it here
And they do find it...

I'm gonna get in trouble.

I can't afford that,

'cause I'm trying to go legal
With a legal distillery.

It's a whole lot of moonshine
Right here.

It's a whole lot of money
Right here.

And no one knows anything
About it.

[ door creaking ]

This is my dream,

And I can't take everyone
Down with me.

Narrator: after having to
Abandon their still site,

Moonshiners jeff and mark
Have moved

Deep into the great smoky
Mountains for a fresh start.

With the moonshine season
Only lasting

As long as the corn harvest
Is plentiful,

Having to move could prove
Costly for jeff and mark.

This time,
They built a new site

With a handmade trough to
Deliver water to their still.

And now they're conducting
A pressure test

To see if the still can hold
Vapors without leaking.

It's not looking good.

The drainage arm
Of their still pot

Is broken and leaking fast.

With time of the essence,

They'll need help
To make the repairs,

And there's only one man
Left in these hollows

With more knowledge
Than mark and jeff --

Legendary moonshiner jim tom.

He's honed his craft
In these mountains

For the last 60 years,
Since he was 12 years old.

[ coughs ]

120 miles to the southwest,

Rookie shiners josh and bill

Are taking their underground
Still site to the next phase.

Starting the day
With digging.

Rather than head
Into the woods,

They've decided to hide
In plain sight,

Building their still right
Underneath a music stage.

Only problem is, there's now
A music festival

Set to come here
In just a few days.

The pressure is building.

Josh:
We got so much to do,

And there's one headache
After another.

I'm about to start freaking out.

Narrator: when it's finished,

The underground still site will
Contain a distilling room,

As well as a mash room
That can hold

At least seven barrels of mash.

With this many barrels,

Josh and bill can distill
Moonshine every day of the week.

I'm not looking forward to
Shoveling mud around today.

We'll start leveling
The floor?

Yep.

Bill: from an engineering
And a safety standpoint,

It's absolutely necessary to dig
Down till we hit solid soil.

The posts that our beams
Are gonna be sitting on

Is gonna have tons of dirt
Back on top of it.

We've got beams to set.
We're feeling the crunch.

Whew.

What I think
We need to do

Is get
Our front corners set.

Josh: we got to get
Leveled up first.

How come you always want
To jump the gun?

We don't have to get
Leveled up first.

We've got to establish
Our bearing points.

It don't have to be perfect.
It just needs to be close.

I mean, we're 3 foot higher over
There than we are over here.

No, that's backfill
We still got to get out

With the machine, though.

I don't give a *bleep*

Dig it by hand,
Or let's not do it.

Josh: bill has one way
Of doing things,

And I have another way
Of doing things.

[ both sigh ]

The floor of this thing is not
Gonna be the same level as that

Unless we dig out another foot
Of that and put it back in here.

Well, I don't know what
To tell you,

But it's gonna be as close
To level as we can get it.

Narrator: the hole
Is currently not level.

One side has more dirt in it
Than the other.

Josh believes
That to level the floor,

They need to move all the dirt
Out of the hole,

But bill believes the best way
To level the floor

Is to move the dirt from one
Side of the hole to the other.

Bill:
I can't believe that josh

Is talking about wanting
To do this right now.

We're not leveling out.

We're backbreaking,

Throwing dirt 9 1/2 feet
Up out of a hole.

Josh: we're getting so pressed
For time,

And if we keep butting heads,
It's, like, I'm wondering

If we're gonna be able to pull
This thing off

Before the festival
Gets here.

If you'd just come around
To my way of thinking,

We'll be all right.

[ sighs ]

Narrator: back
In franklin county, virginia,

The next phase of tim's plan
Is to move his shine

Off his property
To a hidden location.

To do this, he needs to find
The perfect hiding spot,

Then plan how
To get his shine there.

The risk is moving it
From "A" to "B."

I think they done hired
More abc agents,

'cause every time I pick up
A newspaper,

Somebody's done got caught
Hauling moonshine

Or making moonshine
Or selling moonshine.

Man: deputies say they have
Busted up a moonshine operation.

Authorities accuse a husband
And wife of running a distillery

Right in front of their home.

Vincent:
With everything we found,

We can tell he's been
Doing this a while.

Narrator: deputy sheriff chuck

Knows there's more than one way
To skin a cat.

You can catch a moonshiner
In the woods, making it.

But you can also catch them
On the road, hauling it.

Tim: some bootlegger
Has been stopping

At this part right here.

Everybody knows
Not to take that road.

Now, once you pull up
On a stop point

And they stop you,
It's too late.

They gonna want to look
In the trunk of the car

Or in the bed of the truck.

If I get caught, I'm gonna lose
The shine and go to jail.

I ain't got time for that.
I ain't time for no abc agents.

I ain't got time
To be going to jail.

Narrator: coming up...

...A massive wild hog threatens
Mark and jeff's still site.

I see a well.
Is there any water in it?

I think that thing's dry.

And we got to dig this well
Right here.

I'm getting
All the grunt work here.

This is just bull*bleep*

I don't like
Half-assing things.

I ain't moving any more
Of your *bleep* dirt, josh.

Narrator:
Down in south carolina,

Rookie moonshiners josh and bill
Push on with the build

Of their underground still site.

Short on time and resources,

Josh has called in
His friend thomas

To add a few unique enhancements

To their blue ridge
Steamer still.

Josh: we are putting
Some little extras

Here and there on the still,

Just because it's a little
Something that I wanted to do.

Yeah, let's put that
Right there.

I have a sight glass
On the still,

So you can be able to see
In there, see it working.

Bill: this is really unusual
To have this much welding

On a big steamer still

With this much piping
And this many barrels.

It's rare to see it, though,
Completely stainless steel,

'cause it's difficult
To work with.

Copper is a lot more malleable.

Josh: some people
Have told me I'm crazy

And that I'm probably
Gonna have to spend

A lot of time cleaning it,

But why build something
Half-assed?

Should we tilt it down
Just a tad?

I just want to make it

The most beautiful thing
You've ever looked at

In your entire life.

Could have built
A harley.

Harley is
Not this beautiful.

No.

Narrator: while josh and bill
Are adding

High-tech modern touches
To their still,

120 miles to the northeast,

Moonshiners jeff and mark
Have brought in

Legendary still maker
And moonshiner jim tom

To work on making repairs

To their north carolina
High country still.

They'll soon be able to brew
What they hope

Is the first successful
Shine run of the season.

But because they've fallen
So far behind,

They'll need to work 24/7,

And that's the least
Of their problems.

Jeff and mark have chosen
To shine in an area

That's heavily populated
By wild hogs.

Now there's one
That's stalking the site.

In the long history of
Invasive species in appalachia,

The european wild hog
Is one of the most dangerous.

They were first introduced
In the u.S. In 1908.

14 european hogs were brought
To a private hunting reserve

In graham county,
North carolina.

They didn't stay there
For long.

They soon escaped
To the nearby wilderness

Of the great smoky mountains,

Smack-dab in the middle
Of moonshine country.

They soon returned
To their wild state

And started breeding like crazy.

They also grew
To incredible sizes,

Weighing in
At up to 450 pounds.

These monsters were both
Dangerous and destructive.

They contaminated water sources

And sliced the moonshiners' dogs
To ribbons

With their razor-sharp tusks.

But when the demand
For corn liquor

Increased tenfold
During prohibition,

Moonshiners knew they weren't
Leaving the woods anytime soon

And started seeing
These wild hogs as food.

Before long, wild hogs became a
Staple of the moonshiners' diet.

Eating the hogs allowed shiners

To remain isolated high
In the mountains

And shine without needing
To resupply in nearby towns.

Now mark,

Who's stalked everything
That breathes in these woods,

Will try to take down
One of these beasts.

From the time
That he was old enough

To hold a knife and shoot a gun,

Mark was taught the sounds
These woods make

And the ways
In which animals move.

It's a sacred rite of passage

That's passed down
From father to son.

[ camera shutter clicking ]

With mark off hunting dinner
And a damaged still,

Jeff and jim tom press on.

Jeff solders the broken drainage
Arm back onto the still.

He hopes, when he opens
The valve, water will pour out.

[ siren wails ]

Deputy sheriff chuck
Is on a hunt of his own.

He's pushed further
Into the mountains

In pursuit of a new lead
Given by an informant.

A sow is a female boar,

And knowing the sow might be
Pregnant, mark lets it live.

But there's bigger game
Out there,

And the bigger the game,
The more dangerous the hunt.

Mark knows, all too well,

He's got to hit him
With the first shot.

If he misses, the hog
Could turn and charge.

[ hog grunting ]

Narrator: mark is hot
On the trail of a giant wild hog

That he's seen a little
Too close to a still site.

He's tracked him through
The dense forest, into a hollow.

He's got to hit the hog
With the first shot,

Or things could get dangerous.

[ hog grunting ]

[ gunshot ]

300 miles to the north...

While tim has been secretly
Organizing his backup plan,

Hiding and moving hundreds
Of gallons of moonshine,

Progress on the distillery
Continues.

Now that they've constructed and
Placed posts for the distillery,

They need to make sure that
The key ingredient for moonshine

Is ready and available --

Water.

Tickle: that's a great big old
Wolf spider.

Wow.

Well, I mean,
I see a well.

Is there any water in it?

I think that thing's dry.

I mean, it got to have
Some water in it.

Hey, listen.

[ thud ]

I heard something.

That hit ground.
There is no water.

Uh-huh.

That does sound like it dry,
Don't it?

The well is completely dry,

And without
A decent water source,

Their whole project
Is in jeopardy.

With no money
And no time to lose,

Tim has got to think
Of something fast.

The house
Was right here before.

Old house was here, and they dug
A well right here.

I mean, now, before, if you go
Straight in this angle...

To the creek...
That's a spring down there.

If you go right in here and dig
Another well halfway,

You might not have to dig
But 30 feet.

All we can do is
Start digging and see.

Tim:
This is the strongest point,

And it's right in line
With the creek,

And we know there's underground
Water running right here,

So we got to dig this well
Right here.

You a sink man or well man?

I might be a sick man on a day
It comes to dig a well.

Narrator: with no money to hire
A well-digger,

Tim sets up his right-hand man.

Cooler full of beer.
That helps out a whole lot.

Well, it'll get you started,
Won't it?

What? What do you mean,
Get me started?

That'll get us started.I got something I got to do.

I got to go meet somebody.

I'm trying to meet
Some investors or something

To try to get us
Some money, right?

Fire the old still back up,
Down in the woods,

And we can make the money
To damn do this.

But then we won't get
No well dug.

We can do both
At the same time

While it's fermenting down
There, and be digging a well.

You know we can do it.

We still got to have
Some more money.

I know, and I've been trying
To tell you that,

But you don't want
To listen.

I don't like keeping tickle
In the dark on my backup plan,

But the less people know
About it, the safer we'll be.

Here's a shovel.

Tickle:
I know tim's the main man here,

But I'm getting
All the grunt work here.

If you're gonna dig a little
While, I got to go.

Yeah?

And I'll come back.

I don't like it.
It's just not making me happy.

[ scoffs ]
It's too hot out here.

Narrator: deputy sheriff chuck
Is deep in the wilderness

At the edge of a mountain lake.

He's working off a tip
From an informant

Of moonshining activity
In the area.

A fresh water supply
Is a moonshiner's holy grail.

The lake is fed
From the ice-cold springs

That flow from the mountains
Above.

It's the same water source
That shiners use

To run their still
And make their moonshine.

Bill: it's a toothpick.

It's a toothpick, hell.

Josh: [ chuckles ]

Josh and bill
Are finally preparing

To set supporting beams to
Their underground still site.

But with time running out

And no plan in place
For how to move forward,

They're gonna have to wing it.

What about edging this bank up
A little straighter?

Yesterday and the day before,
We're --

Yeah, but it's all tapered back
Right there.

It's tapered back,
Yes, sir.

But there won't be no frame
Under the corner,

If that's the case.

We can work around it.

You don't think?

I don't like
Half-assing things.

We're not half-assing it.

It is
Kind of half-assing it.

I'd really like to shave a layer
Off this entire side,

At least a little bit.

The wall in question tapers out
At the base by 3 feet.

Josh wants it straightened out

Before the beams
Are finally set,

But, to bill, there's not
Enough time for perfection.

Things need to get moving.

The dirt being straight
On this end

Was really not a detail
I was really --

It's a wall.

You want a wall in your house
Doing this?

The walls in there
Don't do that.

The walls over here
Don't do that.

If you would have mentioned
This yesterday,

When we had our piece
Of equipment here, ready to go,

Then no problem at all.

You seriously gonna get
Pissed off

And argue with me
This much

Over just straightening
The wall up?

At this stage of the game, yes!
It's beam-setting day.

I know
We're on a time frame.

We're wasting more time
Arguing about it

Than it'd take to damn do it,

So why not just *bleep*
Do it right the first time

Instead of damn sitting here
Arguing and bickering

Back and forth
Like a couple of little --

'cause I was serious when I told
You last night

That I'm finished shoveling dirt
Out of this hole.

[ sighs ]

Josh: we've been butting heads
On this or that,

And it's starting
To drive me crazy.

And I'm just ready to get
This whole project done.

But it is what it is.

'cause I'm about ready to start
Slinging *bleep*

I ain't lying.

I ain't moving any more
Of your *bleep* dirt, josh.

Oh, god almighty.

Dang!

Narrator: coming up,
It's beam-setting day.

We got to figure out how we're
Gonna do this really fast.

Josh:
Look out. Look out.

Take the swing
Out of that thing.

Ho, ho, ho!
It's going! Watch out!

Watch out, watch out,
Watch out, watch out!

Whoa, josh!

Narrator: back in graham county,
North carolina,

Jim tom is putting 60 years of
Hard-learned experience to work,

Making the final repairs
On the still

While jeff and mark
Butcher their kill.

There's enough meat on the hog

To keep them fed
For weeks during their run,

Which is the time they'll need
To get back on track.

[ sighs ]

[ motorcycle approaching ]

Morning.

How's it going, man?

Narrator:
It's beam-setting day.

And this is not a two-man job,

So josh and bill call in for
Backup -- their buddy vince.

Bill: I'm not saying
We're gonna cut any corners,

But we got to figure out

Exactly how we're
Gonna do this really fast.

I agree with that.

Josh: our time is an issue.

We really just need
To be knocking it out

And making it happen.

Maybe I just miscalculated,

Or maybe we're just not rolling

Like a well-oiled
Sewing machine.

Look out. Look out.

I'm really kind of overwhelmed
Right now.

I almost don't even know
What direction to go in.

It's really frustrating.

Beautiful.

Bill: whoa, josh!

You didn't see me throwing tools
Out of the hole?

I thought you
Was paying attention.

I was getting all the digging
Tools out of the hole.

Are you smoking crack
Or what?

My dog's running
Around here.

You'd have hit cutie pie,

Me and you'd have been
Scrapping, son.

Bill: I was slinging
The pickaxes out of the hole,

And one of them about kissed
Josh in the forehead.

That's a big sign
We need to slow down

And take our time
On a couple important steps.

Narrator: each beam weighs
Hundreds of pounds.

Josh isn't on target,
Bill is a sitting duck.

Take the swing
Out of that thing.

Josh, if you hit our beam,
It's gonna fall over!

Ease it.

Vince: ho, ho, ho!

All right, right there,
Right there.

That's it.

Right there.

That's it. Hold up.

Josh, come down in the hole
With us.

All right.

Josh, I can't hold it!

It's going! Watch out!

Watch out, watch out,
Watch out, watch out!

Narrator:
Back on tim's property,

Under the hot virginia sun,

Tickle is getting
Heated up himself.

Tickle: got a great big old pile
Of dirt,

But it don't seem
Like I went nowhere.

If we was making moonshine,

We could have that money
To spend easily,

But we're not making it 'cause
Tim don't want to take the risk.

But it could be paying for this,

And this could be done
In one afternoon.

This is gonna take me forever
To dig.

I'm sitting here digging it
All by my damn self.

Narrator:
Meanwhile, tim is making moves.

He's evaluated his options

And has decided
On the best place

To hide his stash
Of moonshine --

A nearby tobacco farm.

This tobacco field right here
Is what I'm thinking about.

Be a good spot to put the
Moonshine -- hide it in here.

We want to be able to get to it
Real fast and easy.

That's the number-one thing.

You don't want to go through
A lot of gates and open doors

And have to talk to people,
Or people can see you,

Or nothing like that.

The other thing is just having
It real out in the open,

And it's kind of like
It's no man's claim on it.

And if you was in that area,

And somebody comes in
And tries to frame you up on it,

Then you just tell them, "Hey,
I didn't know it was there.

"I don't own the land.
My hands wasn't on it.

You didn't catch me with it.
It's just sitting there."

It's gonna be a couple of weeks

Before they even come in here
To do anything.

Narrator: late-summer tobacco
Harvest is still weeks away.

Until tim finds
Something more permanent,

This is the perfect place
To hide his shine.

Tim: I may want to just sit them
In between here.

You put them in between,
Right there,

You can't see them things
From the air.

I mean, you can't hardly see it
If you come in here.

Right now, I don't want to tell
Tickle everything I'm doing.

We'll just kind of
Keep it quiet.

It keeps tickle out of trouble.

We don't want him
To know everything.

Tickle:
Man, it's hot out here.

Yeah, been a long time
Since I sweated like this.

This right here
Just ain't good business.

I'm out here killing myself,

And he's riding around,
Probably in the a.C. In his car,

Talking to somebody
Or...Something.

Tim: I've never actually heard

Of anyone hiding it
In a tobacco field.

So if a plane's coming over,

[ snoring ]they're looking in the woods.

They're looking
For vehicles, barns --

You know, stuff like that.

Narrator:
There's always a chance

The law can sneak up on you,

So a good moonshiner
Always knows his escape routes.

If things go bad,
Somebody comes in on me,

And I got this truck right here,
I'm getting in that truck.

I can go that way
To the end of the field,

I can back up and go to hit
The woods that way,

Or I can go that way
And hit the road.

This truck --
It's like a tractor,

So, you know, I can go anywhere.

Tickle:
Tim's been good to me,

But this ain't making me
No money,

And that's the whole reason
I got into this game right here.

It'd be different if he was out
Here helping me, but he's not.

It's really getting to the point

That I just don't know
What I'm gonna do.

I'm tired of this.

[ whistles ]

Tickle: tim could be out here
Helping me with this,

But he's not doing it.

He's off, running around
Somewhere else.

I'm digging this big-ass hole,

Trying to find us some water
For the well.

This is just bull*bleep*

[ sighs ]

What's going on?

Been digging a damn hole.

I thought you was
Gonna dig a well.

You gonna dig
A hole this deep,

You need somebody here
To help you.

Well, I had to go
Do something.

Well, I know, but you always
Got to go do something.

Well, 'cause I'm busy.

Yeah, you busy,
But I'm sitting here

Getting stuck with all this
Kind of work.

Tim:
I don't like keeping tickle

In the dark
About the backup plan,

But it's a way to protect
All of us.

Seem like I always get
The hard part.

Well, somebody
Got to do it.

Yeah, somebody got to do it,
And it's always me.

I thought
You was gonna help me.

I am helping you. I'm trying
To get some investors.

I could have been making money
Today doing something else.

Instead, I'm digging a hole,
And I ain't made nothing.

I'm trying to get investors.

You keep trying,

But it ain't
Happened yet.

Tickle: I like tim.

He's showed me a whole lot
About this business.

But I'm wondering if people

Might want to drink my moonshine
Instead of his.

I know how to do it now.

But, I tell you,
Something's got to improve,

And it's got to improve
Pretty quick.

Narrator:
400 miles to the southwest,

Rookie moonshiners josh and bill
Are in a race against time

To get their posts
And beams set.

Beautiful.

If they can't get the framework
Erected by the end of the day,

They won't be able to get
Their site finished

By the start of the plum hollow
Music festival.

Keep the pressure on it.
Keep the pressure on it.

Hold up!
I can't hold it!

It's going! Watch out!

Watch out, watch out,
Watch out, watch out!

Josh: god dog!

You should have
Just let me pick it up.

I was fixing to.You trying to get killed.

I really didn't have everything
Shored up like I needed to.

And as a builder,
I know better than that,

But I was cutting corners

And trying to get this thing
Knocked out.

Josh: I'm really frustrated
That that beam fell.

This should have
Never happened.

I'm just glad nobody got hurt
Just then,

'cause that was
Pretty dangerous.

We're gonna have
To put braces on it.

Bill: we've been fighting
So much and arguing so much

That I'm finally to the point

Where I'm gonna agree
With whatever he wants to do.

We have to get it done.

Narrator:
120 miles to the northeast,

Mark and jeff are getting ready
For what they hope

Is the first successful
Shine run of the season.

Along to help them make repairs
Is legendary moonshiner jim tom.

They've done everything they can
To prevent any further delays.

They can't afford
Another busted run.

Yeah.

Oh, man, that one
Went together perfect!

Hold what you got,
Hold what you got.

It's been a full day
With the beams today.

Despite all the headbutting,
We got a bunch of them in.

Josh:
That went together perfect.

Can't wait to put
That metal down.

[ thunder rumbling ]

Narrator:
Next time on "Moonshiners"...

If it rains, it's
Really gonna mess us up.

Not if it rains, when it rains.
It's gonna rain.

We got to do something
To make money.

Tim: tickle --

That's the problem
We got right now, is tickle.

Jeff: there's our whiskey.

According to that,
It ain't too high.

Jim tom: everything's not roses
Of making moonshine.

It ain't.
No, it ain't.

Josh:
Did that really happen?

Yes, sir,
That really happened.

Oh, my god.
This is a major catastrophe.