101 level stuff that’ll help:
Dunno Husky well, so I might get corrected: The last two numbers in a Husky part number are the saw’s engine size. 372XP is a 72cc motor.
First number goes up as they introduce new generations: 372 replaced by 572. Etc.
Their pro saws tend to be either tagged PRO on the old ones, or XP on the new ones.
Stihl I’m *much* more familiar with.
New Stihl saws are MS (Motor Saw, in German, also starts with MS) and then three numbers. Their older saws had the same number convention, but they move the zero.
The 046 became the MS460. Subsequent generations of that saw have been the MS461, MS 462. Etc.
Stihl uses the first number to denote the rough displacement of the saw.
An 044 or MS440 is a 70ish CC saw.
An 066 or MS660 is much larger, an 026 or MS250 is much smaller.
I just scored a beat up 044 likely made in the early 90s for $305on eBay, and the current generation runs $900ish brand new. It has a broken handle and needs new plastics so the beat up look scared off most buyers, but it runs strong with good compression. A porting and opened up muffler, and it’ll pull a 25” bar all day long in hardwood.
Personally I’d look for a Pro saw from Husky or Stihl so you won’t be wearing it out with your annual workload. I bought an MS250 for $349 brand mew when I lived in the suburbs, bought 5 acres of hardwood forest, and had it back at the dealer with a bad coil in 2 weeks. If I’d bought an older 026 or MS260, I’d have the same output and bar size as the 250, but in a pro flavor rather than a homeowner one.
I’m a mechanic on heavy equipment and did ten years in Japanese car dealerships before that. Picking up this 044 has me excited for a new wrenching project that will serve me well for decades, AND save me 50% of the price of a newer MS440/441.
I suggest looking at an 026 or MS260 or the equivalent Husky, which will do well for bucking any tree 24” and smaller into firewood and won’t balk at running hard for a six hour day.
In time you’ll want to pick up a second larger saw in the 60-90cc range for big wood... and you’ll have the best of both worlds. A light saw for limbing and brushing out undergrowth, and a beefy one for bucking heavy hardwood rounds or falling large dead trees.
