recomend a medium size saw

[Sburdy]

HI pete, i agree with arbmark, a ms 260 or a 261 as it is now known would be the answer, put it on a sixteen inch bar as a good all rounder, and 18 inch if need's be. Keep the chain sharp and it would about surpass what you require of it! I thiink this month's forestry journal has a write up about the 261.... hope this helps. Shaun.

[Head Ranger Pete]

Hi Pete. I started in conservation work. Its a difficult compromise and i dont know your workload but I would have thought having a saw in between would be a good idea, expense allowing, since you have a range of operator strengths and machine power requirements. I wouldnt ditch the lighter saws because a day of small trees/clearance/rhody bashing is much safer and probably more safely & effectively performed with the 260s.

 

Oh yeah i definitely agree with you there, I'm not thinking of ditching any of the saws ( we have 3 260s, a 192, and an 023 all of which are great for scrub bashing, firewood etc) - and apart from anything else we have three on the team who only have cs30/31 so they can't use the bigger saws anyway.

 

and I wont be ditching the 441 either as there are times when we need the brute power of something like that (for one thing i'm thinking about an alaskan mill and the 441 would be spot on for that, and for another we have a couple of dirty great oaks to come down this winter )

 

I'm just contemplating getting a 362 (or 361, 036, 038 etc) to sit in between and give us more power than an 260 without the weight of a 441

[WoodED]

id just get either a 460 with a smaller bar of a 576xp, the ms362 is pants, the husky 357xp is a daym good saw and the 560xp is also a fine new arrivle... hope this helps

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

MS341 still available tho isn't it?

[WoodED]

MS341 still available tho isn't it?

 

that is a bloddy good point... theres urs awnser a ms341

[arbmark]

funny you should mention that one yes i got the ms341 and it runs 18 & 25" inch bars nicely. i'm not sure it is available any more tho. its in the right area though, with the 362. If you got the budget, i'd go for it. I expect you'll be fighting over who gets to use it tho! you'll think its a nice weight, your umpalumpas will want it for its manageable power.....says me whos 5-6"....where's your patch Pete?

[Head Ranger Pete]

funny you should mention that one yes i got the ms341 and it runs 18 & 25" inch bars nicely. i'm not sure it is available any more tho. its in the right area though, with the 362. If you got the budget, i'd go for it. I expect you'll be fighting over who gets to use it tho! you'll think its a nice weight, your umpalumpas will want it for its manageable power.....says me whos 5-6"....where's your patch Pete?

 

East Devon, based out of branscombe - and it would be a braver man than me that called any of my lot an oompaloompa - though technically there's only two of us who can use a bar longer than 16" or do medium and large trees anyway.

 

I'll definitely look into the 341 - maybe I can talk our dealer (who get a lot of buisness from us) into giving us a feild trial

 

I've sold a bunch of machinery this year so i have a one off opportunity to use some of the income to purchase a modest ammount of kit

[arbmark]

ah, the upmarket south! north devon here. i worked for the East Devon C&CS briefly about 12 yrs ago. Nice patch, havent been that way for a while. Give one of the donkeys a pat from me.

[Head Ranger Pete]

update to this , our local dealer is quoting £669 ex vat for a MS362 - is that reasonable or is he having our keks off ?

[BobG]

update to this , our local dealer is quoting £669 ex vat for a MS362 - is that reasonable or is he having our keks off ?

 

FR Jones' website suggests £500 + vat is more reasonable

 

Stihl MS 362 chainsaw (59.0cc) | F R Jones and Son