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Elite Member
Never heard of Stihl. Is it a new brand of saw?
I never heard of John Deere, is this in realtion to hunting bucks :laughing:
Never heard of Stihl. Is it a new brand of saw?
I have been wanting a large Stihl saw for some time now. I have always heard good things about the older 044 magnum. Several local loggers rave about the 046 magnum. I began looking at my local dealer and found that the 044 and 046 had been replaced with the MS440 and MS460. Today, I went in to look and my dealer said that the MS440 and MS460 were being replaced with a MS441 and MS461. Now Im really confused. My question is:
What are some major differenced / similarities in all of these and If you were looking for a really reliable large saw,
would you try to find an older model no longer in production, or would you just purchase a new model? Any and all advice is welcomed. thanks
Another thing is how much experience do you have? The theory is I have the biggest and baddest to impress if you don't have the skills can get you in trouble. Not trying to say you don't know what you are doing but the bigger saw can jump back and bite you in a hurry. Also what are you going to be cutting most of the time? My Husky top handle with a 16" bar saw gets the most use out of all of my saws. Probably the next the next most used out of my saws is the my Stihl 026Pro. After that would be my 044 and 046 saws with 24 or 28" bars. The least used but most fun is my Husky 2100 with 28" or 36" bars. If you don't need new go with used saws in what ever size you want and save some money. Stick with Stihl and Husky for top end saws.
Yep, I invited an acquaintance to cut some wood for himself in a woodlot I had rights to. He showed up with a big Stihl (I don't recall the size now), with muffler mod. Big bad saw but we were cutting stuff that was 24" at the big end andmost of it was in the 18" range. I was outcutting him with my 361 and was ableo to be comfortable with muffs on. When he fired up that monster with no muffler, I found something to do "way over there". Never invited him again but I did point out to him that while he had a big bad saw there wasn't a tree in this part of the state big enough to need it.
Harry K
Big saws are not necessarily fast saws. Many smaller saws out cut their larger brethren in smaller wood. Big saws turn slower but are torque monsters. Big saws are for long bars being buried in thick wood. I had a 28" bar on a 385 Husky and in 14-15" wood, my 357 would eat it for breakfast.Yep, I invited an acquaintance to cut some wood for himself in a woodlot I had rights to. He showed up with a big Stihl (I don't recall the size now), with muffler mod. Big bad saw but we were cutting stuff that was 24" at the big end andmost of it was in the 18" range. I was outcutting him with my 361 and was ableo to be comfortable with muffs on. When he fired up that monster with no muffler, I found something to do "way over there". Never invited him again but I did point out to him that while he had a big bad saw there wasn't a tree in this part of the state big enough to need it.
Harry K
I have been wanting a large Stihl saw for some time now. I have always heard good things about the older 044 magnum. Several local loggers rave about the 046 magnum. I began looking at my local dealer and found that the 044 and 046 had been replaced with the MS440 and MS460. Today, I went in to look and my dealer said that the MS440 and MS460 were being replaced with a MS441 and MS461. Now Im really confused. My question is:
What are some major differenced / similarities in all of these and If you were looking for a really reliable large saw, would you try to find an older model no longer in production, or would you just purchase a new model? Any and all advice is welcomed. thanks
When buying chainsaws, as long as you stick with the known brands, it is not the name on the saw that counts, it is "is there a dealer near you?". Arguing Stihl vs Husky, etc. is just as juvenile as Ford vs Chevy.
Harry K
He showed up with a big Stihl (I don't recall the size now), with muffler mod. When he fired up that monster with no muffler, I found something to do "way over there".
Harry K