Jyoung1901
New Member
Hi! This is my first post but have lurked for a while as there is so much good information here.
I am a landowner and we live on 54 acres or so with ~40 or so being woods. I also am the primary land manager at my FIL's 150 acres in Kentucky that we are having select cut currently but will be doing major TSI/FSI for habitat management after the logging over the next few years.
When we bought our land in 2020 I purchased an MS271 with an 18" bar and it has served me well thus far. Even dropping some good size oaks (guessing 28" or so), including my first ever plunging back cut on a leaner that I had to do from both sides as the bar was too short.
However, in May this past year we had a EF3 Tornado go through our woods. about 12 acres of are 90% loss and mostly all blowdown but we have a grant to have an excavator come in and stack and burn. The other 18 acres varies from 60% loss to 10% or so. Some good size oaks a ton of cedar varying from small to large. The 18 acres I am cleaning up using my Kubota MX5400 with a grapple and my saw. Some felling and flush cutting for access, some limbing and bucking to get trees to movable sizes with the tractor to pile and burn. My 271 has felt too small a lot of times flush cutting as well as have some big leaners that ill need to take down. I have taught myself (ok and a lot of "Guilty of Treeson" youtube Videos) a ton and feel more skilled than the average homeowner (trying to determine tension and compression in tornado path blowdown has been a new level of challenge
). I don't try anything I don't feel pretty confident I can do safely, but adding in cutting from both sides, bogging the saw, etc. adds variables that would seem wise to eliminate so I can make the cuts a simple as possible.
Also, the vibration after a few hours of a lot of cutting just becomes extremely fatiguing.
Given the tornado cleanup at home, TSI/KSI plans in Kentucky, and firewood, I will be spending a lot of time on the saw the next few years and have decided to get a pro saw. I know people preach that a 20" bar is the ticket a majority of the time, but my 18" bar has felt too small for a lot of what I have ahead of me so I feel that a 25" light bar may be the ticket? I am pretty set on Stihl as I am familiar with them and my Kubota/Stihl dealer is great and close.
The three I have been mainly trying to decide between and what I seemed to have picked up from my research:
1. MS400
Pros: Super smooth, Light weight, smaller, rated up to 25" bar
Cons: I have heard 25" is pushing it in oak, Oils sparingly on 25", No option to go to a bigger bar if needed, plastic handle
2. MS500i
Pros: Extremely versatile, powerful, can run a longer bar if I ever need it
Cons: Expensive, Physically bigger,
3. MS462
Pros: Goldilocks between the 2, Plenty of power for up to 28"
Cons: The main drawback for me, is if I'm going to spend $1469, why would I not just spring for the 500i ($1609) and know Ill have enough saw for anything except milling.
Sorry for the long post, but I have researched a lot. However, with my use case I am in a weird spot where I am a just a homeowner / land manager, but have probably 100+ hours of saw time doing basically every type of cutting except climbing in the near future. My main worries is if I get the 400 and run a 25" bar, I'll still want more power because I see such mixed opinions on it running a 25" when felling/flush cutting hardwoods.
I am a landowner and we live on 54 acres or so with ~40 or so being woods. I also am the primary land manager at my FIL's 150 acres in Kentucky that we are having select cut currently but will be doing major TSI/FSI for habitat management after the logging over the next few years.
When we bought our land in 2020 I purchased an MS271 with an 18" bar and it has served me well thus far. Even dropping some good size oaks (guessing 28" or so), including my first ever plunging back cut on a leaner that I had to do from both sides as the bar was too short.
However, in May this past year we had a EF3 Tornado go through our woods. about 12 acres of are 90% loss and mostly all blowdown but we have a grant to have an excavator come in and stack and burn. The other 18 acres varies from 60% loss to 10% or so. Some good size oaks a ton of cedar varying from small to large. The 18 acres I am cleaning up using my Kubota MX5400 with a grapple and my saw. Some felling and flush cutting for access, some limbing and bucking to get trees to movable sizes with the tractor to pile and burn. My 271 has felt too small a lot of times flush cutting as well as have some big leaners that ill need to take down. I have taught myself (ok and a lot of "Guilty of Treeson" youtube Videos) a ton and feel more skilled than the average homeowner (trying to determine tension and compression in tornado path blowdown has been a new level of challenge
). I don't try anything I don't feel pretty confident I can do safely, but adding in cutting from both sides, bogging the saw, etc. adds variables that would seem wise to eliminate so I can make the cuts a simple as possible.Also, the vibration after a few hours of a lot of cutting just becomes extremely fatiguing.
Given the tornado cleanup at home, TSI/KSI plans in Kentucky, and firewood, I will be spending a lot of time on the saw the next few years and have decided to get a pro saw. I know people preach that a 20" bar is the ticket a majority of the time, but my 18" bar has felt too small for a lot of what I have ahead of me so I feel that a 25" light bar may be the ticket? I am pretty set on Stihl as I am familiar with them and my Kubota/Stihl dealer is great and close.
The three I have been mainly trying to decide between and what I seemed to have picked up from my research:
1. MS400
Pros: Super smooth, Light weight, smaller, rated up to 25" bar
Cons: I have heard 25" is pushing it in oak, Oils sparingly on 25", No option to go to a bigger bar if needed, plastic handle
2. MS500i
Pros: Extremely versatile, powerful, can run a longer bar if I ever need it
Cons: Expensive, Physically bigger,
3. MS462
Pros: Goldilocks between the 2, Plenty of power for up to 28"
Cons: The main drawback for me, is if I'm going to spend $1469, why would I not just spring for the 500i ($1609) and know Ill have enough saw for anything except milling.
Sorry for the long post, but I have researched a lot. However, with my use case I am in a weird spot where I am a just a homeowner / land manager, but have probably 100+ hours of saw time doing basically every type of cutting except climbing in the near future. My main worries is if I get the 400 and run a 25" bar, I'll still want more power because I see such mixed opinions on it running a 25" when felling/flush cutting hardwoods.
