Bush Hog advice

[TripleR]

I swear by them :thumbsup: ... for the right usage, that is. My dad's Caroni TM1900 doesn't "feel" like you should use it to try to cut the same size diameter saplings as a bush hog, so I do use the bush hog when bigger brush is involved. It does work great for cutting regular grass, very thick grass, tall weeds, very small saplings, & the results generally look like a lawn. In fact, when cutting a lawn with it, it makes the lawn look great.

Not the same flail mower as my dad's, but here are two videos that show exactly the results I get:

YouTube - FLAIL Mower HD by Tytan
YouTube - "Perfect" Model KP compact Flail Mower

That is the primary reason I haven't spent the money on a flail as we have four rotary cutters and two RFM's as well as varied terrain and I hate changing three-point implements all of the time. Some day, however, I may very well get one once we get everything tamed so to speak.

 

[Rod in Forfar]

I would argue against a towable bush hog if you have any large rocks on the property. During my early experiences mowing the horse pasture on a drumlin, I clipped a lot of low-lying boulders hidden under the weeds. More than once the only thing that stopped the mower from whacking me on the back was the rigid top link. With a chain instead of a top link, I would have been flattened against the steering wheel on several occasions, no kidding.

Give that some thought. There's a lot of energy back there when that thing gets spinning. If it hits an immovable object, where does that energy go? The 3pt hitch is pretty good at keeping things back there in line.

I bought two new rotary mowers this summer, a five foot to go behind a 5' 6" wide tractor and a 4' to go behind a 41" tractor. If I had it to do again, I would buy a 42" instead of 48", because the extra width doesn't seem to do much good.

My dealer for the Rhino 160 explained that a finishing mower rotates its blades quickly enough to vacuum up the crushed grass behind a tractor's wheels and cut it cleanly. A bush hog doesn't create that kind of suction, so it won't cut what the tractor has tipped over, just skim over the top of it.

Sounded reasonable, so I bought a mid-range 5' rather than a loss-leader 6'.

I hope this helps.

Rod

 

[beppington]

That is the primary reason I haven't spent the money on a flail as we have four rotary cutters and two RFM's as well as varied terrain and I hate changing three-point implements all of the time. Some day, however, I may very well get one once we get everything tamed so to speak.

If I was already the owner of a bush hog & a rear finish mower, I would probably not spend more to get a flail. Since I myself own no mowers, yet have access to a bush hog on the pretty rare occassion I might need it, I plan to get that same Caroni TM1900 when funds allow.

 

[TripleR]

If I was already the owner of a bush hog & a rear finish mower, I would probably not spend more to get a flail. Since I myself own no mowers, yet have access to a bush hog on the pretty rare occasion I might need it, I plan to get that same Caroni TM1900 when funds allow.

Makes sense to me.

 

[IslandTractor]

If I was already the owner of a bush hog & a rear finish mower, I would probably not spend more to get a flail. Since I myself own no mowers, yet have access to a bush hog on the pretty rare occassion I might need it, I plan to get that same Caroni TM1900 when funds allow.

I was the owner of a finish mower and bush hog. Traded them both out and got the Caroni TM1900. I'm very happy with the small compromise in quality of cut from finish and love the single mower versatility, much quieter operation, shorter mower behind the tractor for manuvering and the simplified storage. Maintenance costs are a bit higher as I live in a rock filled area and rocks knock off about a half dozen flail sets each year at $12/set.

I might someday add a cheap beater rotary mower off of Craigslist just for backing into thick brush or for cleaning out under blueberry bushes. That long extension for backing into stuff is the only thing I really miss at all about the rotary. Never missed anything about the finish mower for a minute.

 

[Verticaltrx]

If you are looking at a 8' bush hog you need a lot more tractor than a 5045E or MX4700. They will handle a 6' unit nicely but that's about it. With a 6' bush hog you are looking at 1.5 to 3 acres per hour on average.

We have a JD 2550 (65PTO hp) that we pull a 10'8" pull-type bush hog with. Something similar to this is about the minimum I would want to mow 50ac with, especially if you will be doing it multiple times a year. With a 10' bush hog you would be looking at 3-5ac per hour.

I personally like a pull type bush hog, especially for large mowing jobs. I find that they turn corners better and you get less of that stretched out corner syndrome like you do with 3pt bush hog. Also if you do have trees you can get pretty close to them by just driving around them, the mower swings in on the turn allowing you to get right up to the trunk. With a 3pt mower you have to back up and push the mower under the tree from each side to get all the grass cut around the trunk. If you do go with a pull type, make sure you get one that has a Constant-Velocity (CV) pto shaft. It will let you turn almost 90* corners with it without it chattering.

 

[Tom_H]

the salesman....suggested I should get a pull-along bush hog, like a JD MX8, rather than a 3-point bush hog.

JD doesn't make bush hogs, but they do make rotary cutters, a.k.a. rough cutters or brush hogs

Bush Hog is a company. Bush Hog does make brush hogs, but they also make many other implements. Bush Hogs are not manufactured by anyone except Bush Hog.

I disagree with the salesman. A 3ph rotary cutter is preferable to me for the height control adjustments I need to constantly make on uneven terrain. There are also times when you can only cut certain areas by backing into them. You cannot do that with a towed unit like you can with a 3ph unit. When cutting in a creek bed, I can lift the brush hog into the air, back into position, then lower it into the depression, lift it, move, then do the next section. You could never do that with a towed unit.

A lot of salesmen are just that: men whose job it is to sell you something. There are plenty of them who have never really spent hours on hours actually operating all these implements on all the various tractors out in a real field.

 

[TripleR]

JD doesn't make bush hogs, but they do make rotary cutters, a.k.a. rough cutters or brush hogs

Bush Hog is a company. Bush Hog does make brush hogs, but they also make many other implements. Bush Hogs are not manufactured by anyone except Bush Hog.

I disagree with the salesman. A 3ph rotary cutter is preferable to me for the height control adjustments I need to constantly make on uneven terrain. There are also times when you can only cut certain areas by backing into them. You cannot do that with a towed unit like you can with a 3ph unit. When cutting in a creek bed, I can lift the brush hog into the air, back into position, then lower it into the depression, lift it, move, then do the next section. You could never do that with a towed unit.

Where I live "bush hog" means any rotary cutter regardless if it is a Bush Hog, Land Pride, John Deere, Rhino, King Kutter, Woods etc. If I tell someone I am going to go "bush hog" everyone knows what I am talking about, "I am going to go rotary cutting", just doesn't sound quite right. You can own a Bush Hog "bush hog", Land Pride, Woods, KK "bush hog" or you can go "bush hog" your weeds/pasture. Life is complicated enough without making it more-so.

A three point may indeed fit your needs better than a pull type, but for others it is preferable. We pretty much have to have both and this was determined by a lot of years experience and not some salesman.

As to what will fit the OP's needs better, I imply don't know.

 

[MBDiagMan]

When I started reading posts on TBN I was rally surprised at the fact that the term "Brush Hog" is so widely used. I lived in Lubbock as a high schooler in the sixties and was aware of the Bush Hog Company and their products. Since that time on the occasion that I hear people refer to a shredder or rotary cutter as a "Brush Hog" it always gets my attention and sometimes I explain it to them.

In my area a rotary cutter is typically referred to as a "shredder" and it's operation referred to as 'shredding."

Bush Hog made a fabulously heavy and tough product in the early days, so I guess it's only natural that an incorrect variation of their name has come into the vernacular. It's sort of like hearing any soft drink referred to as a Coke or any refrigerator referred to as a Frigidaire.

All that said, a rose is a rose, so as long as poeple know what you're saying I guess it all works out.

 

[Builder]

Gotta agree with TripleR on that one. A "bush hog" is what everyone around here calls a rear rotary mower for cutting "bush". Nobody asks me for a price to "rotary mower" their field:laughing:. they ask for a price to "bush hog" their field.

People always call all flexible bandages a "Band aid", which is really a brand of flexible bandage or a "Kleenex" which is a brand name of facial tissue.