Chainsaw Advice please...UPDATE WITH PICS

heres the deal... buy the pro saw... why??? you will fall in love with whatever saw you buy. you will inevitably want to trade it in for a newer/bigger model... it will cost you less this way $10 says within two years you'll want a 362, then a 460 or a 660 0r an 880 like jay. chainsaws are addicting. buy the pro and never look back

+1

wow, that sounds like a verse out of the Bible.

If you buy right you will not lose a penny and run the best for free. I like the stihl's because they are a very easy sell.

but harder to buy, there was an 036 this morning on CL for 140 bucks. I called first thing.. Gone... Again...

I am not discouraged though.

Wow That would have been a great buy. There out there if your buying used I look at the good husky number to. I miss 2-372 for I think it was 250.00 bucks.

+2

OK the saw sale (in Ontario) ends at the end of the month and I've been saving my pennies. I've decided to go with the MS 261 but i have one more question before i head to the dealer this week. the 261 comes with a 16 inch bar and that's what the sales guys suggests for the saw. as i said in the original post, i'd personally like an 18 inch bar and they will swap the 16 for the 18 for no additional cost...but i'm getting the strong impression they prefer selling the saw with the 16 inch bar..even though specs say it will run up to a 20". so i'm wondering who has used this saw with different bars and do you have a suggestion for which one I should buy it with? and I know I should get both with extra chains, but for the time being I can't cuz I'm stretching things financially to even buy the saw right now. thanks again and i'll update with pics when i pick the saw up!

You will be ok with a 18 if thats what you like...I have ran 16 and 20 on the 260.

Play with the Easy2Start system first, I found it to be Awesome with a capital A. For my own reasons, I know little about any other differences between these saws, but the Easy2Start system made me buy a Stihl vs. any other.

I run a 18" bar on my MS260 and it pulls great. But I'm not cutting hardwood.
After running a MS290 for many years, I sure like the 260 better. Those couple of pounds make a big difference when cutting in the forest all day.

Good choice on your new saw.

+ 1 on the 18" for a 261. Will do just fine. I'm assuming this is .325 chain we're talking about?

I think so, at least that's what the CDN specs say it comes with, the .325 RSC chain.

Thanks again everyone for the help with this!

Go forth with sure step and purchase thy saw!

You'll be fine with an 18" bar

If you're going to get an extra bar I'd get a 16" & 20"

It is not the saw you want, but I have been running an MS250 for a 4th year now. Great saw even with a 18" bar.

I think a little more HP would make it the best all around size saw so the 260 should be the best bet.

x2

Ended up getting the 16" bar as that's what was recommended by the dealer (and by Stihl) as the best match to the saw. I will get an 18" or even 20" bar in the future. For now I'll use the 16" for a bit and see how I like it. Anyways, to complete this thread...here's the pics! Thanks again for the advice, so happy to have a good saw now!

Nice saw....now, go get it dirty.

that thing must scream.

Congrats on the new saw. I have been looking at the 261 for a few weeks now deciding if I want to buy one. I have being hearing/reading lots of good things.

Nice pics. So, how much are you selling it for? I'm looking for a deal, so don't try to soak me. Oh...wait....you just bought this one, didn't you? Not selling it? Oh, then go get the darn thing dirty. Here I thought I might get a great saw for let's say $250 cash. LOL

Nice shiny new toy! Skip the 18" when you go back to buy a "big bar" for it and pick up a 20".