Choosing the "right" Stihl...I need a lesson in numbers!

Here are the prices I was quoted:

MS290 w/ 18" bar: $350 plus tax
MS391 w/ 20" bar: $470 plus tax

ac

20 inch bar 539.00 list price so that is very good price! I normally get 10 percent off list on saws and a little more on accessories.

I would have to believe if a 290 can handle a 20 inch bar then a 391 can handle more than a 20. I think 20 is good for most stuff and it might be nice to have a 25 for occasional use.

If you want a stihl
If you want to buy new
If $500 is your price point
If you want to be able to run a 25" bar

Then I think the 391 is your new saw.

Let me throw a cog in the gears.

An MS361 with 20" bar just came up for sale locally. Pics show it to be immaculate. No marks on the bar even. The guy said he bought it to support and outdoor furnace, but the town refused his permit. 1 hour use.

He wants $400.
ac

Oh Jump Fast!

If you haven't jumped on the 361 yet, you've made an awful mistake. The 391 and 290 will cut, yup, but they're pigs. Listen, when Redd says he's gonna buy a 361/2 next time it's the right thing to do!

S

right thing at 400.00!

Am I missing something? I'm not even sure what we're talking about now, lol. In the first quote I thought you were saying that it's easy to change it from a strato to a regular old-fashioned 2-stroke. I don't know how you'd do that without major work. I think we both agree the saw is fine as is anyway, so we might as well quit mucking up this thread that is quickly becoming another MS361 drool-fest %-P

To late he found one! 400.00 bucks no contest now! lol

lol This is why I like the 390's

Oh, how we'll miss these threads when all existing 361's are already in the hands of HDC members! Guys will start dressing them up in little bonnets & showing pictures of them back when they were brand new. I'm tearing-up here 8-/

Since you want to stay with a stihl the 391 would be my choice like many have already said. But if I was looking for a saw to do what you want at that price a used 372xp would be my first choice with a new 346xp coming in second.

Well, I went and looked at the MS361. The $400 saw became $375 with a 2nd brand new chain thrown in.

DONE.

As I was driving down the driveway I saw all of the trees on each side sway away in fear.
ac

Excellent! Now send her out for a nice port & muff mod & you'll a real screamer lol. Good buy though. A C

WHY can't I find deals like this!!??

Congrats.....Santa came early for you.

Search craigslist daily for Stihl.

The story is pretty funny...and sad.

This guy moved from the pompous city to get into the "country". By country I mean 4000 square foot houses with paver driveways and $50k landscaping the deer use as a buffet.
I guess he got sick of paying $800/month in oil. He and his neighbor went to the county fair to try to experience the "rural" life. They both got sold outdoor furnaces. He ran out and bought this saw and got a logging truck delivery.
Apparently his other city slicker neighbors felt the smell of burning woods was a little "too country" for them.
5 days into burning the DEP showed up as his door and fined him and supplied him with mandate to immediately stop use and decommission the furnace. $16k later he is back to $800/month for oil and I have a new saw


ac

This is why I bought the 390, it was $130 more than the 290, and the comp button is nice. The 361 was too much of a step up in $$$.

I cut 3-4 cords a year out of my woods and also work on some hefty delivered log lengths with my Stihl026/16in bar.

With a sharp chain and some ingenuity on my part it can handle anything, not fast but effectively.

That being said, the 026 is getting tired, if I upgrade it will be to a little more power with an 18' bar.

Not sure what Stihl that is.

I cut 3-4 cords a year out of my woods and also work on some hefty delivered log lengths with my Stihl026/16in bar.

With a sharp chain and some ingenuity on my part it can handle anything, not fast but effectively.

That being said, the 026 is getting tired, if I upgrade it will be to a little more power with an 18' bar.

Not sure what Stihl that is.

044

LOL

044?

correction 18 " bar