What's everyone's favorite/go-to saw for larger felling jobs?

[cjmac163]

I am a huge fan of my 385xp, I feel like they are highly underrated and are overshadowed by the 395xp. I did very minor port work on the intake and exhaust, and with a Red Beard intake and basement muffler porting, this thing rips! It pulls 32 inches of square-grind skiptooth chain like it's nothing. One of the best saws I have ever personally run.

How about you guys?

ps. The logs I buried my 385 into for the photo were felled by a 455 Rancher with (obviously) a much smaller bar I am terrible at hand-filing square ground chain, so I try to save it for critical cuts in much larger wood.

 

[What]

I have 6 Husqvarna 390 XP saws for my business, running 4 different length bars, starting at 24", and up to 48", rarely needed. I've tried 25 plus different saws in my lifetime, swear by Husqvarna brand, and my favorite of them is the 390XP, and favorite bar is 30", not too big, or small, for 90% of the work I do. Heard they have, or are, discontinuing it, so guess I'll just have to keep rebuilding mine.

 

[cjmac163]

I have 6 Husqvarna 390 XP saws for my business, running 4 different length bars, starting at 24", and up to 48", rarely needed. I've tried 25 plus different saws in my lifetime, swear by Husqvarna brand, and my favorite of them is the 390XP, and favorite bar is 30", not too big, or small, for 90% of the work I do. Heard they have, or are, discontinuing it, so guess I'll just have to keep rebuilding mine.

Wow. I guess I don't truly love my 385. I need 5 more!
I know the 390xp is the successor to the 385xp, but had no clue they could manage anything past a 36 inch bar. I don't know of any other bar sizes until a 42" so i figured that was just a really big jump and wouldn't be feasible. What kind of work do you have done to the saw to pull a 48" chain, if any? And how does it pull?
You swear by Husky, because Husky IS the best in the business

 

[What]

Wow. I guess I don't truly love my 385. I need 5 more!
I know the 390xp is the successor to the 385xp, but had no clue they could manage anything past a 36 inch bar. I don't know of any other bar sizes until a 42" so i figured that was just a really big jump and wouldn't be feasible. What kind of work do you have done to the saw to pull a 48" chain, if any? And how does it pull?
You swear by Husky, because Husky IS the best in the business

I have a logging company, some is all hand fallen, some where the terrain is too steep, or wood too large for my buncher, then I hand fall it. Don't need the 48 a lot, but when I do, it's a God send. I'm really not someone who is into having to work around a tree, to fall it. It pulls the 48, just can't rush it is all, good to teach me patience, which I tend to lack. I'm the guy who uses too much pressure at times, and lugs his saw down. With the 48, sunk into say a 40 inch tree, you don't just dig the dogs in, and twist, you finesse it.
This select logging job, means a lot of hand falling, not just walk the 830 in and cut everything, or run over it.

 

[cjmac163]

I have a logging company, some is all hand fallen, some where the terrain is too steep, or wood too large for my buncher, then I hand fall it. Don't need the 48 a lot, but when I do, it's a God send. I'm really not someone who is into having to work around a tree, to fall it. It pulls the 48, just can't rush it is all, good to teach me patience, which I tend to lack. I'm the guy who uses too much pressure at times, and lugs his saw down. With the 48, sunk into say a 40 inch tree, you don't just dig the dogs in, and twist, you finesse it.
This select logging job, means a lot of hand falling, not just walk the 830 in and cut everything, or run over it.

Definitely understood. I personally do a lot of land clearing, but not full-scale logging, so all my work is hand falling. I don't own a buncher (yet!) so I have to hoof it through the woods most times. Lugging the 385 around is a little wild sometimes, but it is such a great saw that I find it worth it honestly. I also need to work on my patience. Maybe I need a 42 incher to develop mine on those bigger trees haha!

 

[Steve Woodrow]

If you ever watch TimberKutterPatriot on YouTube you will find he hates Stihl saws but awhile back when he was having back problems he actually used a 500i, admitted he could run it more hours a day.

 

[cjmac163]

If you ever watch TimberKutterPatriot on YouTube you will find he hates Stihl saws but awhile back when he was having back problems he actually used a 500i, admitted he could run it more hours a day.

I have yet to run a 500i, but I will say if i bought a new Stihl based off reputation, I would either get a 500i or a 661. Seems like people are really loving those. My only holdup is that I'm not the biggest fan of the Mtronic crap (or autotune), which is why i stick to my 3 series husky saws. 385 and 372 are both just awesome saws.

 

[What]

My last stihl pissed me off so bad, that when it was about 6 months old I tossed it on the ground, and ran over it with the dozer.

 

[cjmac163]

My last stihl pissed me off so bad, that when it was about 6 months old I tossed it on the ground, and ran over it with the dozer.

What model was that saw?

Side note: I see what you mean now about patience!

 

[What]

What model was that saw?

Side note: I see what you mean now about patience!

MS 881. They claimed that it was so powerful...ummm sure if you can actually get it to run. It was 2016 or 2017, bought it new, returned to the dalert at least 20 times to be fixed. I used it probably 5 days at the most because it would not start, or if it did start ran like crap. Mad oneday, I drove the D7 over it, and pulled out my trusty old 3120, it had to be 15 years old, used and abused, yet always started, and ran. I still have it, don't use it a lot, but if I'm in a stand of all big trees, I grab it, and know that it has the torque to fall anything in my way.
It has a Duke cylinder and piston now, and cuts great. It can sit for a month, and still starts on the 3rd pull.

 

[Alan]

That’s wild @What… an 881 getting dozered is saying a lot. Nothing more frustrating than a “top of the line” saw that won’t start when you need it. That contrast you mentioned is exactly why the older big iron still earns so much respect. When you’re in big wood, reliability and torque matter way more than specs on paper.

That 3120 with a Duke top end sounds like a beast, especially if it’ll fire after sitting a month. Hard to argue with a saw that just does its job every time. Makes sense why you still grab it when things get serious.

 

[What]

That’s wild @What… an 881 getting dozered is saying a lot. Nothing more frustrating than a “top of the line” saw that won’t start when you need it. That contrast you mentioned is exactly why the older big iron still earns so much respect. When you’re in big wood, reliability and torque matter way more than specs on paper.

That 3120 with a Duke top end sounds like a beast, especially if it’ll fire after sitting a month. Hard to argue with a saw that just does its job every time. Makes sense why you still grab it when things get serious.

Someone asked me why I didn't sell it, instead of running over it.
My response " I wouldn't sell anyone a stihl, to me that would be the same as robbing them. And I wouldn't break into their house either".

The person laughed, and said point made.