Will 50cc do it all?

A few weeks back I bought a MS 261 with exactly what you have said. I cut white spruce in the interior of Alaska. I target trees from 4-5 up to 8-10 inches and to fall a softwood this small I don't need to be toting a large saw. I cut in a old wildfire burn from '95 there is crazy amount to wood on the ground to step/trip over and toting the 036's is getting old. I cut to 8'6" length and hand carry to the trailer, and buck them at home. I will be going out this upcoming weekend and can give a better opinion once I have had it in the woods. I normally come out of the burn with a load of 2.5 to 3.5 cords.

 

I usually take 3 saws when cutting. A 3400 Echo, ported 026 and a ported MS440 , the 026 gets the most use. My 440 was down for awhile and the 026 took up the slack and did all of the larger stuff. The older I get the more I like a lighter saw. I have been getting some larger wood and the 440 is getting more use though.

 

No 026's were harmed in this picture.

 

I bought my little Echo CS 400 3 years ago for limbing and cutting up small stuff. It is my got to saw now days For the most part then I will grab one of the bigger saws Usually these days the J red since the muffler was fixed so it isn't a hand cooker.

Al

 

Depends on your wood lot.
I scrounge on Craigslist and find I often get called back when the first guy gives up because his saw can't handle the size of the tree.
I run a CS590 60cc most of the time, but switch over to the CS490 when the wood is smaller and the big saw is dull

 

I always bring more saws than I need...just in case. Takes too much time to run home for something forgeten. Well I take spares of everything. Especially FOOD.

 

The local village (I don't live in the village) has a tree service cut tree lawn trees cut a couple times a year. Me being able to cut everything and haul it out gives me access that others don't enjoy. The village doesn't like hiring the tub grinder to make mulch.

 

I have bigger saws up to an 066 but my goto is my MS241 with a 14" sharp chain , a 6t spur and a muffler mod .
Light , smooth on the hands and the work will tire me out , not the saw .
I've bought 50 cord for selling over the last 3 years , 90% blocked with the 026's 16" and the 241 14"
The 75 to 100 cords I've felled over the last 4 years have been done with the 026's and the 241 .
In the last 4 years I've cut 1 6x6 with the 066 , 1 spruce with the 2171 and maybe 5 cord with the 034/361's , not sure when I last ran my 394 , sold my 2100xp and gave away my 262 .
I like the small light saws , suites the cutting I'm doing at the moment with the 241 being King

 

I dearly love my 461, but if push came to shove and I could only have one saw, it would be my 260.
Will

 

Wow that sounds like alot of very hard work. Ya i understand about cutting in places with alot of underbrush and leftover slash from previous logging. And your probly not on level ground either. How far are you packing these 8'6 length poles to your truck?

 

A 260/261 460/461 is really all a guy needs!

 

I try and keep it less than 50 yards. I am very lucky the we have a great state local forestry office. The 1995 Tok to Eagle wildfire burned 6.5 million acres. Forestry gives us access the permits are free. You know what the greatest generation says about a little hard work.

 

I just bought the 261 on my second tank. I chose the 441 over the 461. I felt the balance of the 441 r over 461 non wrap handle was more centered. The 461 was left of center line balance. The air filtration on the 441 is superior. I lined the 441, 461, 661 all up on the floor at the dealer. Stood behind and went through the motions of bucking a pile. Went in going to buy the 661 and walked out with the 441r-cm. I have two 036 pros and a 034 super as well and wanted something a little smaller and one larger.

 

O34 and 036 are some tough saws. Those and the 361 and 064 are my favorite stihls that i have run. Ive never ran a 441.

 

The 441R is the best set up of the 3 of those as far as ergonomics. And they are good saws. I never figured out the 2 barrel carb. But it worked ok.
The 441R is Stretched , handles are spaced farther apart.
I've completely used up more than a dozen 3 cube saws in my career. They are a staple. But nowadays. I'm happy with around 45 cc's .
And then 70+ cc's.

 

I run my little Echo 400 w/14" b/c combo until the wood gets too big for the saw.
Small lite weight saw takes some of the work out of the chore at hand.

Back to the OP..a 50cc is all I owned for a few years and should do the job, I graduated to a couple bigger saws because I was missing out on some of the bigger hardwood around here.

 

Makes sense, by far the 441r was more comfortable. The 461 and 661 were not as well balanced. I am glad Bryce had a phone call, gave me about 30 minutes to play around with them. Don't know if I would have walked out with the 441r. Was hell bent on that 661r. Some fellah walked in and just stood at the door way watching me going through the motions of bucking wood. Never said a word, just stared. Bryce came back in the showroom, I bought the 441r, that fellah never said a word in my presence. Must have scared him quiet.

 

A good little saw will never out perform a good big saw. The right tool for the right job.

 

50cc is my "go to". Large enough for most anything I will get myself into, and small enough that I'm not in a hurry to set it down. I use my 70cc for felling bigger diameters and when I have a lot of bucking to do. Otherwise, it sits patiently awaiting it's next job while the 50cc *always* comes with me...sometimes with a top handle for backup. On the odd occasion that I head out in the woods and do not expect to do any cutting, the top handle rides solo with me, strictly for any unexpected trail obstacles. I learned a long time ago that unless I'm hunting, whenever I go into the woods, take a saw. The time that you decide it's not needed is exactly the time there is a tree trunk/top blocking the trail you intended to travel.

 

I grew up using 50cc exclusively.
I cut most oldish growth hardwood, 90% of it is over 25 inches.(it is harder than yard trees)
Since getting the 461 there is no way I'd choose a 50cc over it.
Most of it is trunk with very little top.
I use the 261 for 10 inch stuff. Even then on a long/tall skinny(10 inch) dead semi hardwood like a cherry I wonder if the 461 would be easier.

It depends on what you cut and how much. If i only cut one or two cords a 50cc would be fine. A bigger chainsaw would be more of a toy than a need.