Heavy Duty Brushcutters

[DrewDoug]

New here.

I don't know of anywhere else to seek advice on this. So here we go.

I volunteer for a small charity that do conservation work in the Scottish Southern Uplands.
We currently have relatively low grade "strimmers". An old Hitachi grass trimmer and a newer Stihl FS70.

We need to invest in a serious upgrade to tackle forests of Gorse.
Our Lantra trainer recommended the Stihl 400 series because we will need the mulching blade and scratcher blade kits.

The question is.
What is the sort of minimum power required to saw and mulch gorse that could be 2-3 inches thick, 12 ft high and acres upon acres?
I was thinking the Stihl FS 461.

We don't have heap loads of cash either. So even a brand new Stihl clearing saw is a big spend for us.

We are going premium brands though. Not taking a chance on cheap crap that may look good on paper.

Thanks.

[pleasant]

Whatever you go for (and the Stihl clearing saws are fine) make sure you have a dealer relatively near. My experience of dealers in Scotland means they can be few are far between as it's a difficult market to get into.

[JLA1990]

Stihl 461 will handle the gorse but as pleasant suggests you’re gonna need a dealer near by. As good as they’re, hitting that spec veg consistently you’re gonna need parts on the reg. Obvs I have no idea site conditions etc but for the price of the cutter could you not get a tractor/mulcher in? That would do more in a day than you would in a few months constant cutting.

[Muddy42]

For that type of abuse, I’d go for the either of the petrol husqvarna or stihl 40 or 50 cc options. The 50cc versions are amazing but heavier. I think they both have forestry versions with slightly shorter reach to help with sawing trees. You’ll want saw blade attachments not mulching to get through 3 inches of 12 ft gorse.

[Welshfred]

The Stihl 461 is excellent. But if stems are that thick a chainsaw might be better first, cut them low with some rough chopping then use the brush cutter to tackle the regrowth next year. Use a long bar on the saw and gauntlets or super tough clothing.

It depends what habitat you're transitioning to. If you want to encourage natural regeneration the rough chopped gorse could help protect the young trees from browsers.

[roys]

I use the FS400, and it is good at clearing heavy mutant bramble, scrub and reed stuff but I think it wood struggle with 3” gorse stems, I would take my chainsaw to them. However I am not a professional at this so I will bow to the more knowledgeable members.

[Muddy42]

3 minutes ago, JLA1990 said:

Stihl 461 will handle the gorse but as pleasant suggests you’re gonna need a dealer near by. As good as they’re, hitting that spec veg consistently you’re gonna need parts on the reg. Obvs I have no idea site conditions etc but for the price of the cutter could you not get a tractor/mulcher in? That would do more in a day than you would in a few months constant cutting.

Agreed, its making me sore just thinking about it!

[twistedhicap]

We run Husqvarna 545RXT and 555RXT all with the mulching shredder kits and one is on standard line head too and we do lots of scrub and bramble bashig and not uncommon to tackle thick 6-8ft tall bramble elder saplings and they just keep going especially if you have worked out the techniques to get the tall stuff to fall down and then you can mulch it up ! 
 

Was so impressed with them I have a 545RXT personally and it does everything you ask ! And the Harness with them is comfortable all day if adjusted right ! 

[DrewDoug]

Thanks for the advice everyone so far.

To give a bit more information,

The sites for the most part are only accessible by foot. So everything needs carried in.

We are planting and protecting native tree species. Which the Gorse aren't fond of.

We can't afford the capitol of chainsaws. Training, PPE etc.

Fortunately, we do have a Stihl dealer nearby. Which is also a Hursqarna dealer.

The 545RXT was my other consideration. Six and half a dozen I suppose. Not saving much going Husky.

[scbk]

Mini digger with a grab and pull the roots out.........