460 vs 461 vs 441 R C-M

still doing homework on getting a new 70cc saw, sorry about all the posts! have really appreciated all of your responses! I have been thinking, I havent ever heard a bad thing about the 441. All i ever hear is good things about them, and the m-tronics deal. So pretty much I'm in between the 461 and the 441 r-c-m. It will be used as my main felling and bucking saw and of course it will be used to cut up firewood. I'm constantly using chainsaws and the 362 I have just isn't big enough and I like to keep the 066 dressed with a 36" bar because I end up needing a 36" bar quite frequently. I see that the 461 and the 441 are priced real similar like. Just wanted some feedback on which one might be a better saw to be using alot. Right now I work at the construction company from 7-3 and the farm from 4-after dark and at the wood farm i'm running a chainsaw alot of the time and on the weekends when i work at the farm i'm pretty much running chainsaw all day. any feedback would be great. most likely will be pulling semi chisel chain as well as full chisel, we run into alot of dirty stuff when were bucking wood before we cut it up on the sawmill, and i run full chisel when we're out in the woods dropping trees. most likely will run a 28" on it and it will proberly see a 32" occasional like.
thanks yawl -doug

Is the 28" bar for reach and visual impact only? If you plan on cutting 24"
and up wood regular the 441RCM is probably a little light on power. Either go ahead and buy the 461R, Husqy 576xpatw, or Dolmar 7900. Just think 70cc is 25" max, 80cc for 30" max, 90cc for 36" max. Or buy a snellerized 441RCM, and get the best value of all other alternatives. I sure wish I would have in the first place.

XSKIER said:

Is the 28" bar for reach and visual impact only? If you plan on cutting 24"
and up wood regular the 441RCM is probably a little light on power. Either go ahead and buy the 461R, Husqy 576xpatw, or Dolmar 7900. Just think 70cc is 25" max, 80cc for 30" max, 90cc for 36" max. Or buy a snellerized 441RCM, and get the best value of all other alternatives. I sure wish I would have in the first place.

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no i'd proberly have the 28" buried alot..we have some pretty good sized wood around here. at times my 36" bar on the 066 isnt enough for the logs we get in. we get our own wood and a few different logging companies deliver wood to us, and we get some suprisingly big wood. some of the logs are from like suburban areas where they take down real big trees that have been there forever and the people dont want it to fall on them. during the winter the weight of the snow does a good job making wood fall from the sky. I almost got hit by a falling tree in my truck during a bad storm a few years back. luckily i spotted it and slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop before it hit me. that was sketchy. but anyways back on the topic, yea so you think that a 460 or 461 would be best then? I run a 25" bar with a rsf chain on my 362 all the time and yea its kinda slow and has a hard time pulling it but it does the job eventually and it gets er done plus its nice for limbing its pretty light and i dont have to bend my back too much i'm 6'1" with a achy back and bad knees so the less i have to bend the happier i am and the easier it is to get outta bed the next morn

the stihl dealer says to wait at least 60 days that a new model has been out to make sure the kinks get worked outta it. I am needing the saw pretty soon though, the work is piling up and the 362 just isnt cutting the mustard. I love the older 460s I have run a bunch of them and am very comfortable with them just never owner one cause they cost too much. If i got a new 460 it'd last me a lifetime. the thing is that i have ran plenty of 460s and have never once run a 461. not sure how i'll like it with all the new age stuff on it

441 or 461 with a 28" stihl light bar. I've never really noticed much difference in 24" and 28" in required power. Its really only 3" at the most difference.

mdavlee said:

441 or 461 with a 28" stihl light bar. I've never really noticed much difference in 24" and 28" in required power. Its really only 3" at the most difference.

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I agree with Mike here. I run 28" bars on my 372xpw and my 441C both. They feel like they are right at home with the 28" bar. i run them with full comp chain too, and they pull it right along. Granted, the xpw is ported, so is the 441C, but I ran 28' bars on them before they were ported and they still pulled them very well. I can't tell of any loss in power between running a 24" and a 28".

Love my 441CM, run a 25" ES and full comp chisel. I have ran a friends 460, good saw. the 461... too new to even have in this area yet.

I would say it comes down to your preference. Do you like old school muscle, or newer tech to get the job done? A saw that is always trying to stay at the best tun, or wone you may need to adjust the carb to keep at peak performance?

Old school is the 461 the techie is the 441CM plane and simple. You can port either, or muff mod either so I won't get into the 441CM ported is as good as .... talk.

Word on here is the non-spring AV of the 461 is smooth, the 441 still has the spring AV so....

dw

dwraisor said:

Love my 441CM, run a 25" ES and full comp chisel. I have ran a friends 460, good saw. the 461... too new to even have in this area yet.

I would say it comes down to your preference. Do you like old school muscle, or newer tech to get the job done? A saw that is always trying to stay at the best tun, or wone you may need to adjust the carb to keep at peak performance?

Old school is the 461 the techie is the 441CM plane and simple. You can port either, or muff mod either so I won't get into the 441CM ported is as good as .... talk.

Word on here is the non-spring AV of the 461 is smooth, the 441 still has the spring AV so....

dw

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ahhh, yes i am big into old school muscle, i do not like technology i feel its ruining society. dont want to get into that though. i like the good old dependable 460, its tried and true. thats pretty much what i want in a saw, one that will last forever, startup everytime, and get the job done every time. I kinda think that the 461 is too new for me, i think i'd like to give it some time before i break down and spend alot of money on one. the one thing i do like is about buying new is that there is nothing wrong with it, everything works, no funky things about it that bug me, nothing. thats the only reason i'd buy a new saw, and also to say that its mine its been mine since the first log its cut. also, years on down the road when the 460 is gone and its only the 461 available, i can have a nice old 460 that i have kept in the best condition i could, and if need be i could buy another 461, but i couldnt be able go and buy a new 460.

say i ordered a 460 r, can i get handwarmers on it? i got injured on the job at the construction company saving this not so smart kids hide from a falling beam, and i screwed up my left hand, now when its even the slightest bit cold my left hand is hard to move and not much strength in it, so i think that a hand warmer deal would be perfect for it. anyone know if they offer it for the 460?

You might check around and see if there's a GTG near you, and inquire as to whether any of these saws will be there. I'm sure the 460 is a great saw, but if you tried a 441 with one of your bars and chains, you might like it. And I expect it gets better gas mileage than a 460. That might matter to some folks.

I like new technology and I love my MS441 RCM! It amazes me every time I run it. I opened the muffler up and it adjusted itself to the change and kept on working even better. I normally run a 28" bar and it handles it fine

Steve

If you're fighting the 25" on the 361 why not run it on your 066 and take your time picking a saw out. It should run it!

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ancy said:

If you're fighting the 25" on the 361 why not run it on your 066 and take your time picking a saw out. It should run it!

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well the 362 pulls the 25" good enough for the girls i go with, i like to keep the 36" bar on the 066 cause i dont like having to stop and switch it onto the 066 everytime i need it, plus the 066 has some of them quirks...like the gas tank leaks, the bar oil leaks, you need a scrench to open and close the gas/oil caps, the chain break handle is broken, it's kinda tired....etc etc. i'm planning on having that masterminded at one point in my life. i had been using the 045av super electronic for awhile but that things sooo dang heavy to work with all day plus it has more quirks than the 066. i'll get them all back up above 90% good one day. but for now, i gotta keep working i don't have much free time.

lambs said:

You might check around and see if there's a GTG near you, and inquire as to whether any of these saws will be there. I'm sure the 460 is a great saw, but if you tried a 441 with one of your bars and chains, you might like it. And I expect it gets better gas mileage than a 460. That might matter to some folks.

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i missed a gtg not too long ago i missed the post i was disappointed! i wish that the stihl dealers round here had demonstration saws! I have ran the 440 a couple times, but i always had a choice between the 440 and the 460 and i always liked the 460 better...i kinda think my mind is made up at this point in life, i think i'd like a 460r. reason being is because the 460 is on its way out. i wish i had gotten a 361 over the 362 even though i do love the 362. i used to run a 361 at work and i loved it and when i went to buy one for myself there were no more anywhere around and the 362 caught my eye. i do love it, it has got to be one of my favorite saws i own right now, mainly because it starts everytime, and has no quirks or problems

"ahhh, yes i am big into old school muscle, i do not like technology i feel its ruining society"
Well 4X4 you could always go back to a cross cut saw because even a 460 Stihl has quite a bit of technology in it.
Sorry, for the smartalic remark. I know what you mean.

4x4American said:

well the 362 pulls the 25" good enough for the girls i go with, i like to keep the 36" bar on the 066 cause i dont like having to stop and switch it onto the 066 everytime i need it, plus the 066 has some of them quirks...like the gas tank leaks, the bar oil leaks, you need a scrench to open and close the gas/oil caps, the chain break handle is broken, it's kinda tired....etc etc. i'm planning on having that masterminded at one point in my life. i had been using the 045av super electronic for awhile but that things sooo dang heavy to work with all day plus it has more quirks than the 066. i'll get them all back up above 90% good one day. but for now, i gotta keep working i don't have much free time.

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Ok I'd get the Dolmar 7900

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I don't know anything about a 461 but what I read about them on here. But if that saw is out of the question for being too new, I'd get the 441 CM. It is a bad mofo, that is smooth and don't use much fuel. I've buried mine in hardwood with a 32" b&c stock and it pulls just fine. The 460 is a dinosaur.

4x4American said:

say i ordered a 460 r, can i get handwarmers .... anyone know if they offer it for the 460?

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Maybe a dealer will chime in, but I believe all three are available w/ the hand warmer option. I believe the cod is VW so you would want the 460RCVW (I think - someone slap me if I'm wrong).

and yes the 441 is a fuel sipper.


dw

Yes, the 461 is new in the US market, but it's using fairly established technology and stuff that has been around for a while (SawTroll may even say it's outdated and may be right). It has a regular old carb that you can clean, rebuild, and adjust. It has some fancy internal flow design, but we're talking about ports and passages in cast metal, so it's still "low risk" tech. In addition, we know that the 461 has been demoed and tested for at least a year if you look around on the internet. So I wouldn't worry about giving it time to iron out any kinks. Heck, my 461 has a build date of May 2012 even though it was the first one for sale in this area here in October 2012. It's already been around the block a bit.

I had been running a 441-CM for about three months, and recently sold it to a buddy and got a 461 for myself. I can't say anything bad about the 441-CM at all. It was a great saw. However, the 461 is noticeably stronger out of the box, as you'd expect of a bigger saw, and it's not noticeably different in weight, size, handling, or vibration. I handed off the 441 and began cutting with the 461 without missing a beat, and it's been a real workhorse of a saw so far. I didn't really split hairs or think about how the saws are different or new or old, I just took the 461 home and started using the heck out of it. It has impressed me every time I use it, always starting easily and consistently and always running hard.

Of the three saws you're talking about, the 461 is the strongest in stock form. So what else do you need to know? Just get one and start sawing wood!! I don't think you'll be kicking yourself -- who ever says their saw is too powerful or too strong??

Termite said:

"ahhh, yes i am big into old school muscle, i do not like technology i feel its ruining society"
Well 4X4 you could always go back to a cross cut saw because even a 460 Stihl has quite a bit of technology in it.
Sorry, for the smartalic remark. I know what you mean.

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haha yea to an extent, i done derd did say i dint wanna get into it! seein as how i said i dint wanna get into it, ill just say that i do like the technology up to the 90s...maybe the early 2000s..but after that when it started getting ridiculous, it makes me sick. cars that can park themselves, backup cameras, massage seats in cars and my worst fear of all, them dang smart phones!...its too much its making people lazy. but dont get me wrong, i'll take a chainsaw over a crosscut almost anyday..some days i feel like being old school and do things the older fashioned way.