Thanks everyone. Sorry for a delayed response to all this - got real busy. So, I was/am going to be bucking a lot of western Juniper, haven't yet (this weekend) but I keep hearing it's terribly hard, and hard on saws. That comes from the BLM guys that cut the stuff. So I found that the .325 with .050 is what I was referencing afte talking with someone around here. Didn't know, that's why I asked. Thought maybe going narrow kerf would make bucking that stuff a little easier if the saw had to move less material. So I thought about throwing a .050 18" bar on an ms271, but the the width between 063 and 050 is marginal enough that I assumed it is not worth spending the money.
So thanks for all the info. I'm just going with my original plan and saving some money after reading this and talking with BLM. Guess I'll buck with a 3/8 20" bar.
Anybody here cut this Western Juniper? The only hardwood I've cut was some honey locusts. Maybe I have cut some other hardwood, but never bothered to find out if it was hardwood; just another tree to cut to me. I was told not to use skip chain on the Juniper, but I cut down some BIG honey locusts and skip flew right threw it fine and it didn't seem any more different that cutting lodgepole really, it might not have cut as fast? but not enough that I can recall with any lasting impression. I was planning on using skip semi-chisel on 25" bar. I imagine it'll be okay. Just wondering if anyone has spent time cutting these things and what their opinions are. I think I might be creating some anxiety about my equiptment by listening to all the stuff people say about these Junipers. Or maybe they are correct and I should worry.
Anyways, that's why I was asking about narrow kerf. Seems to be more headache, trouble, and money than it's worth. So, yeah, A big thank you to all of you and your responses.