Buying 25 acres of woods....

[msjwebb]

Ok I have been reading a lot of posts here and have learned a lot already. We are buying 25 acres of woods. Our plans include taking down some trees in a 4 acre area for the homesite, clearing the under brush, removing some of the not so nice trees and planting fruit bearing trees in their place.
So the first step we want to do is get a walk behind brush mower so we can assess the overall layout of the property and find a place to make the home site that will work best for us and the land. We have been looking at several of the brush mowers and all of the ones that are 17+ horse power seem to have good reviews. I was wondering if anyone has or knows someone that has bought one of these from home depot, Brush Beast 36 In. 22 HP 653 CC Subaru V-Twin Engine. There are not any reviews on it yet nor can I figure out who "really" makes it. They say it is made by Brush Beast.....but I can not find anything on them....
Anyway I was wondering what you guy's take on it was.
Next thing will be the tractor!

[flusher]

Ok I have been reading a lot of posts here and have learned a lot already. We are buying 25 acres of woods. Our plans include taking down some trees in a 4 acre area for the homesite, clearing the under brush, removing some of the not so nice trees and planting fruit bearing trees in their place.
So the first step we want to do is get a walk behind brush mower so we can assess the overall layout of the property and find a place to make the home site that will work best for us and the land. We have been looking at several of the brush mowers and all of the ones that are 17+ horse power seem to have good reviews. I was wondering if anyone has or knows someone that has bought one of these from home depot, Brush Beast 36 In. 22 HP 653 CC Subaru V-Twin Engine. There are not any reviews on it yet nor can I figure out who "really" makes it. They say it is made by Brush Beast.....but I can not find anything on them....
Anyway I was wondering what you guy's take on it was.
Next thing will be the tractor!

That's a pretty pricey walk behind mower--$3149.
If I were you, I'd rent, or hire someone with, a tractor and bush hog to clear enough of the property so you can make your siting decisions. You can get a lot of hogging done for $500.

[Big Bri]

my dad bought one of these and he loves it. i've used it a couple of times and everything they say it will do it will do and more. i was very impressed with how easy this thing would cut 4ft tall grass and brush. he has had his for 10 years now and uses it 3 or 4 times a year to cut a levee on his property.

DR Power Equipment - Brush Mower / Brush Cutter 13HP - mow brush up to 6 feet high

http://http://www.drpower.com/TwoSte...Page=fabmodels

[msjwebb]

That's a pretty pricey walk behind mower--$3149.
If I were you, I'd rent, or hire someone with, a tractor and bush hog to clear enough of the property so you can make your siting decisions. You can get a lot of hogging done for $500.

The problem with that is then you have to pay someone to keep doing it and it is not done how you want it done. With owning 25 acres it will get a lot of use and we can also buy a finnishing blade for it later. It is not just a "walk behind mower" it is a bush hog without the tractor. We will be getting a tractor but a tractor will not be easy to get into the woods. We want to pick what trees we keep and the ones that go. 3k is not a bad investment when you think long term if it does what it says it does.

[msjwebb]

my dad bought one of these and he loves it. i've used it a couple of times and everything they say it will do it will do and more. i was very impressed with how easy this thing would cut 4ft tall grass and brush. he has had his for 10 years now and uses it 3 or 4 times a year to cut a levee on his property.

DR Power Equipment - Brush Mower / Brush Cutter 13HP - mow brush up to 6 feet high

http://http://www.drpower.com/TwoSte...Page=fabmodels

I was looking at those too. But for less than the 17 HP, we can get the 22 HP with shipping. There are large areas of black berry bushes that must GO. They attract the deer but also the bears.

[msjwebb]

Oh and they want 7-12k an acre around here to clear land and that is without getting the option of keeping the trees you want.

[mattman]

Boy that is high to get some land cleared. Where do you live?? I would think someone with a bulldozer could make you some trails thru the place so you can get an idea of what you have. Did you buy this land sight unseen???

[dave1949]

Where is 'around here' if I may ask? Read a review a couple yesrs ago on walk behind brush cutters, they work but will give you a real workout in the process was the conclusion. Bottom line, if the reviewer could have had a tractor with bush hog, he would have been happier.

[MikeD74T]

The problem with that is then you have to pay someone to keep doing it and it is not done how you want it done. With owning 25 acres it will get a lot of use and we can also buy a finnishing blade for it later. It is not just a "walk behind mower" it is a bush hog without the tractor. We will be getting a tractor but a tractor will not be easy to get into the woods. We want to pick what trees we keep and the ones that go. 3k is not a bad investment when you think long term if it does what it says it does.

Unless you've got some leg time behind one of the mowers you might want to rent one first. 25 acres is a lot of walking behing a 3 or 4' mower. MikeD74T

[msjwebb]

Boy that is high to get some land cleared. Where do you live?? I would think someone with a bulldozer could make you some trails thru the place so you can get an idea of what you have. Did you buy this land sight unseen???

No we have walked the property. It is quite thick around the edges of the property but opens up in the middle where the larger trees have choked out the younger ones. There are also quite a few downed trees that would pose a hazzard to a tractor driving through. I live in Virginia. We called around and they charge quite a bit to remove the trees and the stumps. Raw land around here is also NOT CHEAP! We will be doing most of the work ourselves. Bulldozing the trees sounds good and all but it would also remove the topsoil and under that is sand and then clay. We would prefer to keep as many trees as we can. If we wanted to go out and clear cut it we would have bought farm land not a large wooded lot. I would hate to have someone come in an just bulldose some of these 50+ year old trees.