There is a new but shopworn (couple scratches on case) Husqvarna 460 for a good price at the farm and fleet
Opinions ?
I used to ride a Husqvarna dirt bike and it was great (1976 250 WR)
That is a good saw. It is too small if you want to spend days and days in the woods whittling down forests. In short it aint no Stihl. :( But then it does not have a Stihl price tag either. :)
From what I see it will run up to a 24 inch bar okay. We are in fairly large pine and big aspen a lot. Both my saws have 24 inch bars and I find them the best for all around saws. (Neither is a Stihl nor a Husky.) So I don't have any first hand experience with the Husky. Jarhead runs one and seem to like it real well. With proper care and maintenance the bar and engine will last a long long time.
As a guide Bailey's has them with a 18 inch bar $449.95, 20 inch bar is also $449.95. And the 24 inch 469.95. All with free ground shipping. http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=HVF+460R+24&CAT=
If you buy don't forget chaps (I am a real believer in them now) and falling wedges if you are doing any falling.
I have a Stihl 026 which I like very much
this Husky wears a 24" bar and they are asking $402
There are a few larger trees I may have to fell, so this has some appeal for that
good price I think
decisions decisions
I have a Huskvarna 455 with a 20 inch bar. Its a bit smaller then the 460, but not much. I just cut down a 3ft diameter maple tree and the saw had no problem. My inlaws also run a Husqvarna, and they have never had any complaints.
If it was me and I thought I needed it and didn't buy it I would be kicking myself every time I looked at a tree I wanted to drop. You could always sell or swap it if you wanted later.
One more with the Husky 455 and a 20" bar. It has taken care of a lot of Birch and pine on out up-north property. Always started. Only issue I have is it likes to throw chains if you are delimbing. But It is a fine saw.
Bought it, $402 plus tax
24" bar
thanks for the input
One thing that made us choose the Huscvarna over a Stihl is the compression release for starting the saw. It makes it much easier to start. My wife had a terrible time trying to start the Stihl. It was just too hard for her to pull.
That compression release is handy. My 445 has it and the 440 does not.
I have the Stihl 029S, which has a 56cc engine, vs the Husq 440 (40cc) or the 445 (46cc).
I find that it cuts slowly for me, which may be more of a factor of the safety blade that I have. I use it at 10k feet elevation, and it does bog from time to time.
It does start pretty easily though. I am unaware if it has a compression release built into the choke mechanism.