Chainsaw selection help, best saw for "me"

[Firemoore98]

Howdy gentlemen,

Long time lurker and I have spend a month or so traded old threads around here, and I'm sorry because I know this is a pretty common question, but I also think it's a persona one that is dependent upon ones available wood and saw skills.

I recently moved to an all wooded 5acre lot and I have spent the last year working on my standing dead ash trees. I burnt @6 cords of wood last year and I have several folks that want to buy cord wood from me. All things considered I think I will be a 10-15 cord a year guy on top of managing my all wooded property. Not truly "pro" use I understand, but I want pro quality.

I currently have a ms290 w/18" and 20" bars and I keep my chains sharp with a timberline sharpener. I always though it was a good saw (great if you factor price), but since I am cutting more I would rather get a better saw. I also have a ms201t c mtronic for the small stuff and to prepare fruit wood for my BBQ smoker.

My property is a mix of hard wood, oak, maple, cherry, ash, hickory to name a few and my timber ranges from 6"-36" plus in diameter. Of course I have no plans of taking down the big boys unless they break or get diseased. (Much of my white oak is stressed....). Most of my firewood is @ 20" or less.

I have great dealer support for stihl and for now think I will stick with them. Also I am a fan of the m tronic system and I am looking misty at new saws. I plan on running a 20" bar and in fact I already purchased a 20" Sugi Hara bar. It might be worth having something like a 25" bar in case I get into some larger stuff.

Options:

Stihl ms362c
Is it big enough? Would it be too close to the ms290 I already have?

Ms441 c m tronic
Even though discontinued I can still get a new one. I like this saw a lot

Ms461
Is there a newer style better AV coming soon perhaps a ms462?

Ms661 c mtronic
Great saw I run one at the firehouse frequently. Is this too big for a firewood saw?

If this saw is going to wear a 20" most of the time would there be a big difference between these saws? I've watched every YouTube video I could, and mostly I see drag race style cutting I'm worried how the saw will handle a long day of cutting. Extra operator fatigue with extra saw weight vs having more power etc.

Thanks a bunch for all your thoughts.

Jason




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[blsnelling]

I would opt for the MS461. You can run it with a 20" or throw on a 28". Unless you intend to run a 32"-36", I'd not go with the larger, heavier, and more expensive MS661. I also wouldn't go with the MS362.

 

[Firemoore98]

Thanks for the quick reply Brian.

Is the anti vibration system significantly better on the ms441 vs the ms461? Price wise they are about the same.

Thanks

Jason


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[blsnelling]

I'm not particularly vibe sensitive, so I'll leave that to someone else. Price is within <$100 of each other.

 

[computeruser]

I never really was impressed by the 441, m-tronic or carb versions. Something always felt lacking and the A/V made it hard for me to read the what the saw was saying. I never felt this way about Husqvarna or Dolmar spring A/V, though.

For your use now and into the future, I would look at the 461, honestly. If it were mine, I'd run 18" and 28" bars with it if cutting hardwood for firewood.

 

[Firemoore98]

Great suggestion. Thanks for the reply.

Keep the thoughts coming fellas

Jason


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[blsnelling]

How badly do you want the MTronic? That's not yet on the 461. Speaking of the 441, I'm not sure you can even get one. They've been off the market for probably 12-18 months now. I'm not sure if they're back or not.

 

[Firemoore98]

I have a local dealer that has a ms441c and wants to move it. Offered it to me for $775 w/25" bar and chain.

I like the ms461 but seems like an older chassis that is due for a makeover like the 044/440/441 and 036/360/361/362. It seems like an ms462 is eminent. I run a 460 at the firehouse and I like the more modern anti vibe better. I had a non m-tronic 201t and upgraded to the m-tronic 201tc and I'm a believer. The m tronic rips compared to the standard carbed 201t and starts much better when hot. Brian your asking me feel like a girly man though by mentioning that [emoji1380]....


Brain whatever I come up with, I would like to have you "snellerize" both my 201tc and my other saw this thread is helping me pick out. I'm a local Ohio fella

Thanks for all the input






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[rwoods]

I'll be the contrarian here and say go with a 60cc saw. And I would look for a premo lightly used saw first. 362 is a good all round saw. A 361 is great with a little work, Either can be found in my area for $400 or so. If you have a steady diet of big stuff then I would move to a bigger saw. For 20" down, a 60cc is more than enough for your wood. You won't win any races but 60cc is enough to buck 36" oaks. I would not recommend falling a tree that size but a 60cc saw will certainly make firewood out of it.

Ron

 

[blsnelling]

The 441C is a great running saw. If need be, the 441 wrap model has stiffer AV springs. That's a fantastic price he's giving you!

 

[Frogfarmer]

MS461 and never look back. The 441 will do what you want but for the value the 461 rules. You won't be impressed with the power of the 360 class saws compared to your current saw.

 

[Khntr85]

Well I have the ms290, ms362, and the ms461.... Yes the built quality over the ms290 to the ms362 is without a doubt a lot better....were you will notice the difference over the 290 and 362 is the torque in my opinion..... If you put both of those saws in 20" hickory, the 362 will make noticeably more power.....

Now with all that said, I was running into abunch of big stuff, so I said hell with it and got a ms461.....I have a 25" and 20" B&C...... I use the 20" bar on the 461 a lot, as I only cut hardwoods like you mentioned......I researched VERY thoroughly before I got the 461.... For me personally, I think the AV on the ms461 is great....now I know someone will say I am crazy, but I like being able to feel the saw "work" if that makes since....now I love my ms362 but it is "soft" in the AV department to me....

If the 290 with the 18"-20" bar are serving you good I would personally get the ms461.... You can always get a 25" or 28" B&C for the 461 if need be.... Good luck Kyle!!!

 

[Firemoore98]

Kyle,

Thanks for sharing your experience. I guess my mind keeps going back to the 441 because everyone says good things about the 362 and about the 461 so my simple brain thinks the ms441 is the sweet spot for size/weight. But I'm not seeing many ms441 fan boys out there. My 3rd grade teacher told me I'm not a good listener and I argue too much.... I still do that even with myself. I'm trying to talk myself into the ms441 but you guys (with more experience than me) are recommending the other says. Just like I told that 3rd grade teacher many years ago, "I'm trying to listen though".


Thanks again for the reply.

Jason


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[Khntr85]

LOL. You sound a lot like me..... You can look up on this site I made a thread asking opinions about the ms461 before I bought it..... I like you was goin to get the 441...... However, at the time they weren't selling the 441..... So I figured I would wait until I found one or they started production agian..... Well after talking to the experienced guys on here, I started researching the 461 and decided it would be better for me.... My dealer also at the time was selling the 461 at the 441 price, so it worked out pretty good for me....

In all seriousness, you sound just like me..... I mean I REALLY over thought the situation.... I was in the excactly same position you are in now....don't beat yourself up over it, just talk with the guys here who have the saws, and try to run them at dealer too... Kyle

 

[Big Block]

I vote for the 461

 

[Kegerator5]

I'd say 362. Simply because it'll outdo your 290 over and over again. Then, sell the 290, which at least around me, seem to still fetch 250-350 used hard. If you can get 250-350 for it, Use that to "snellerize", or save it until you find a good used 461. Put it towards it.

 

[longbowch]

I love my 441c, but it is the r model too. I don't regret it over the 461 at all.

 

[hseII]

My Vote.

 

[Big Block]

I like that jred

 

[Firemoore98]

I am sure they're very nice saws. My problem is dealer support. I have stihl dealers near my house my work and at my family's remote farm in rural southern Ohio.

We had problems getting parts for an old johnserd and its sitting in s pile of parts right now over a bad carb...


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