what saws do US Forest Fighters use?

AJLOGGER · Nov 30, 2002

I think the saw the pres. is holding is bigger than an 044, I own an 044 and unless they ordered bigger dogs and on both sides it is probably a 046 or an 064/66. The 044 I have only has dogs on one side and they are smaller. Well the pres. isn't as dumb as some of the communist democrates say he is, at least he is holding a Stihl.

bwalker · Nov 30, 2002

Its a 44. Look at the airbox,

stihltech · Nov 30, 2002

dogs

Unless you know something I don't, those are the only dogs Stihl sells that will match inside and out. I tried again the other day for a set of small dogs and no dice.

treeclimber165 · Nov 30, 2002

Originally posted by ClearH20Scott
......... Who does the sharpening?
Just curious.

I'd imagine that out of a 6 or 8 man team that uses saws, at least one or two are capable of using a hand file. They also might have time to practice during the times they aren't out fighting fires. But that's just my opinion. I couldn't imagine paying someone to sharpen my saws. From the first time I used a chainsaw, I kept thinking about how much money I was spending sharpening chains and kept working at learning how to do it myself so I wouldn't be dependant on someone else to keep my saw functional.
If these guys are stuck out in the boonies for a month or more at a time fighting a forest fire, I doubt very seriously that they would be shuttling chains back and forth to a saw shop for sharpening.

bwalker · Nov 30, 2002

Stihltech, You have a part # for the dogs pictured?

fun_chopper · Dec 2, 2002

They do things much like the military, they have whats commonly refered to as a "risk kit" it is a 4'x4'x6' connex that contains all necessary supplies for a sustained fire, we typicaly air-drop 8-10 USFS risk kits a year during fire season out of our Special Operations C-130 aircraft (peacetime interagency missions). The Missoula guy that usually accompanies the risk kits showed me the contents. Extra bars (24"-32") boxes of brand new chain, new powerheads, tools, bench file guides, axes, picks, and all kinds of other stuff. The gross weight of an average risk kit 2500 lbs. Non fire season sharpening is usually done by changing the chains. If you want decent chains for free make friends with a US gov firefighter!-Matt

Milo · Dec 3, 2002

We used Stihl 044s. I saw nothing but Stihls. The sawyers got paid more but had to carry the saws in. Kinda like humpin' a M60 to me. Yeah you get the glory but you pay the price. Everybody carried files so you were either sharpening your pulaski or your stihl.