Stihl MS 271 Farm Boss Chainsaw Review

[JGaulard]

This will be a rolling review, meaning, I'll be adding to it as time goes on. I've actually yet to have this saw running in my hands, so I can't comment on how it performs or feels while using it. I can, however, offer some background and photos. It's forecast to warm up over the next few days here in Maine, so I can definitely see myself out in the woods testing this bad boy out. I'll try to get some video of me doing that. I'll also offer much more commentary then.

So here's how it went; I needed a backup chainsaw. I've already got a Stihl MS 250 that I've owned since 2007. That's an excellent saw and I'm sure if I took care of it and didn't do anything stupid, it would last many more years to come. There was a time when I let it sit too long though and the carburetor got gummed up (I thought). I changed the carb and it worked fine after that. I swear it may have just been old gas and that I really didn't need to change the carb, but it was good experience and it only cost a few bucks. Anyway, because I'm very much into cutting and splitting my own firewood, I decided that owning a backup saw would be prudent. I also wanted a larger one to cut down trees I haven't been able to. The MS 250 sports a 16" bar and I decided at the very least, I'd need an 18". A 20" would be ideal.

I've been looking around at a few different brands, but really, nothing beats the power, reliability, quality, and support system of a Stihl. What I enjoy most is the dealer network. If something goes wrong with the saw, I like the fact that I can bring it back to where I bought it and my problems will be solved. It's for this reason I didn't order one online and have it shipped to me. Doing something like that is just not worth the risk.

I ventured out to Aubuchon Hardware in Farmington, Maine this morning. I called before I left to see if they carried the Stihl brand and they told me they did. They had a few saws in stock; one being the MS 250, which I was considering buying, and the other being the MS 271, which I was on the fence about. The 250 came with an 18" bar and since I already own this saw, I know how great it is. No one has ever had a complaint about the 250. The 271, however, I was unfamiliar with. I knew it had a larger engine, but nothing else. But really, if it was larger than the 250 and if it was in my price range, I figured I'd check it out.

The MS 250 has a 45cc engine and the 271 has a 50cc. The 271 is on par with the Husqvarna 450 and 455 series. The 271s the store had in stock came with two different sized bars; 18" and 20" The MS 250 was selling for $379 and the MS 271 was selling for $439. There was a bit of a discrepancy between the pricing of the two different sized bars, but I'll keep the conversations between the sales guy and myself private. Let's just say that after discussing things for a while, I decided to buy the 271 with the 20" bar. I saw the value in it, so I went for it.

What a great feeling saw. It feels so much like the old Stihls I used to use for ground work when I, in an earlier life, was employed by a few tree service companies. I think the 271 is the homeowner version of the more professional 261 version. That one has a magnesium case, while the 271 has a hard plastic one. We'll see how that holds up.

I just went through the saw a snapped a few photos. It's rare that I have the opportunity of taking pictures of a brand new and unused chainsaw. What a beauty. Take a look.

Here's a shot of the side. It's got the chain cover in there.



This is a great shot of the 20" bar. The size of the writing is different on the 18" bar. It's smaller.



Here's a shot of the exhaust and the chain brake. You can see the plastic case below the exhaust.



Here's a photo of the top and rear handles, the pull cord, and the gas cap.



A top view of the saw. This cover hides the air filter and engine.



This is the actual air filter and the top part of the engine. Loosening three screws takes the top cover off. You can use either a star (torx) wrench or the regular flat head screwdriver that comes with the saw. Using a torx driver is much better, in my opinion.



Another angle of the air filter. I got the spark plug cap in there too.



The saw came with the chain installed far too tight. I loosened it and then decided to pull the entire cover off for a photo.



And one final snazzy picture of a few teeth on the chain itself.



The chain that comes with this saw is a .325" RM3. Obviously, the length needs to fit the bar. Because it's always a pain to figure out what size sharpening files are necessary, I sized them while in the store. This chain calls for a 3/16" file, which I've got plenty of. It's nice to know the size though. I've got the same type of chain on my MS 250, so the files are interchangeable.

Like I said, as I use this saw, I'll add to this post. This is a good start though. At least I got some good photos of the saw while it's clean.

 

[JGaulard]

Well, I didn't get any video, but I did run the MS 271 for the very first time this afternoon. I actually hadn't even started it since I bought it. This afternoon was the first time. It ran well, but I do have a few comments.

I like the smell of a brand new chainsaw. I held it idling in my hands and the exhaust was wonderful. I know. Weird, but nice. One thing I didn't like about this MS 271 was the on/off/choke switch. It looks thinner than the one on the MS 250 and a bit cheaper. So that's not good. I'm also concerned about this plastic case. My other saw has a metal one, so there's some cost savings going on at Stihl.

I didn't have any trouble starting the saw. That was fine. Maybe a pull or two. As it was idling in my hands, I revved it up a few times. Since it was cold, there was some bogging down at the very beginning. That worked its way out after the saw warmed up. As I let it idle, it stalled out. I'm not sure if that's because the saw was cold or if that's a thing. I'll need to keep an eye on that.

I cut down a small white birch tree in the woods today. I needed to test things out. The tree was totally bent over and the top was touching the ground, so most of the wood was up in the air above me, horizontally. As I cut, I very quickly noticed something. This saw is a lot heavier than my MS 250. It's totally not a good saw to be walking around the woods with, cutting trees here and there. That's what the lighter MS 250 is for. My arms got tired quickly. I'll keep that in mind too. Basically, this is a ground chainsaw. Cut a large tree down and then cut it up into firewood.

It's got good power though. I pressed into the wood while opening up the throttle and there was no bogging at all. It wanted to chomp through the wood, so that's good.

Overall, it's a great saw. I'll have to see how it holds up through the years, but it's off to a good start, under the right conditions. I've got plenty of big wood, so I'll use this for that. For everything else, I'll use my smaller saw. I'll also be sure to get some video of me cutting soon.

 

[JGaulard]

I've been running this saw a lot lately. I've probably already cut over a cord of firewood with it. Just yesterday, I took down a large white pine, maple, and another maple (yet to be cut into rounds). There's most likely a cord of good wood just in those three trees, with the aforementioned cord in my woods. I have to say that it is such a pleasure working with a 20" bar versus a 16" bar. I'm now getting all the larger dead trees I was unable to tackle with the smaller MS250.

I haven't had to sharpen the chain yet, but that's right around the corner. I can feel it. A few days ago, I ordered a 12-pack of Oregon 3/16" files, so I've got plenty of what I need when the time comes. The store I purchased the saw from sells Stihl files for $5.99 per 3-pack. I bought the Oregons for $21.50, so there's a bit of savings there. Check out the pics. I still have to take some video of this saw cutting through some big wood. Now that I've got a two and a half foot thick white pine that's lying on its side in the snow, I'll be able to do that.

 

[Phoenix1]

Best Husqvarna Chainsaw for Homeowners?​

I'm in the market for a new chainsaw and am finding the Husqvarna brand appealing. I used to own one of these saws about 30 years ago and it was great. Mine had an 18" bar, which seemed to handle almost anything I threw at it. I somehow lost that saw, but since then, I have purchased a Stihl MS 250, which has been just about perfect for me. It's got a 16" bar and just about enough power to do what I'd like it to do. I cut down medium sized trees for firewood and it's kept up through the years. I do wish I had a bit more power and a longer bar at times though. I'll admit that.

With the coming firewood season this spring, I'm getting nervous about owning only one saw. There's a short window between the snow thawing and the bugs arriving that I need to do a lot of work. If my Stihl saw decides to stop working for some reason, I'm out of luck. That's why I'd like a backup. Actually, I'd like to make the Stihl the backup and use something larger most of the time. That's why I'm checking out Husky.

Yesterday, I was looking at the Husqvarna 440E and almost decided to buy it. It's got an 18" bar and since I know I like that size bar, it was a no-brainer. But then I got thinking about how nice a slightly longer bar would be. And more power. So now, I think I've decided on the Husqvarna 450E. This saw has a 20" bar and it's got about 50ccs in the motor. I think that would definitely be great.

About prices. Amazon.com is all over the place. I don't even use them anymore for things like this. Also, if I need to return the store because it's a lemon or something, I'd like it to be local. That's why I'm looking at Tractor Supply. They sell the 440E for $299 and the 450E for $399. I've seen the 450 at Northern Tool + Equipment for $329. They sell refurbished saws, but I honestly don't think the risk is worth saving only $60 after the shipping cost has been included. Reviews for the used saws have been good, but there are a few that talk about receiving saws with dull chains and incorrect bars. I'd really prefer a brand new one.

So my question is, do you have any experience with chainsaws? What's your favorite brand? How about Husqvarna? What's your favorite model? I'd love to buy the Husky 460 Rancher, but that would definitely be too heavy for my needs. I'd get exhausted carrying that thing around. All opinions welcome.

UPDATE

I've been shopping around for prices on this saw and have concluded that $399 is the most common price, hands down. I almost found one for $379 on Ebay, but that saw came with an 18" bar. That would have been a great price though. The seller even offered free shipping. Amazon is absolutely crazy. They're charging over $500. I don't know what's going on there. But so far, these sellers have been offering it at $399: Aubuchon Hardware, Safford Equipment, and Tractor Supply. There are a few sellers who are offering the saw at $379, but again, it comes with an 18" bar: Ebay, Generator Factory Outlet, Max Tool, and Tyler Tool. There are also vendors who sell used models, but I'm not interested in them. I've seen people use chainsaws and it isn't pretty.

I'll need to make the purchase soon because spring is coming and that's when people begin taking care of their firewood needs. I don't want to get caught up in some sort of an inventory crunch of price rise.

 

[CampFireJack]

I used to own this brand of chainsaw too. I liked mine more than I liked my friend's Stihl 038. I don't think they make the 038 anymore, but at one time, it was very popular in the log cutting and tree care industry. It was a great ground saw that balanced power and weight. My friend had about five of them. My old Husky (bought it for $100 from an Army recruiter after I turned him down) was known as a "hot saw," meaning that it ran fast and cut even faster. I filed down the rakers on the chain so it would cut larger chips from the logs. It was great.

Do you know the difference between the Husqvarna 450, 450E, and 450 Rancher? I do like this size of saw, but it's just confusing with so many models and numbers. It's like they're all over the place.

 

[Phoenix1]

Yeah, it's confusing when trying to figure out what the different models mean and what they do. What's worse is that when shopping around, sellers often mistake one model for another. For instance, I see Husqvarna 450E Rancher chainsaws for sale all over the place. But when I get on the seller's page, the word "Rancher" mysteriously disappears. And the bar sizes change from 20" to 18" frequently as well. To be clear, there are three models in this category. They are: 450, 450E, and 450 Rancher.

The differences between all three models are minor. As for the engine, housing, and fuel and oil tanks, the three saws use the same everything. When you upgrade from the basic 450 to the 450E, you get yourself a tool-less chain adjustment. That costs an extra $10. So you go from around $360 to $370 for that. I believe the E model also comes with Smart Start, which makes the saw easier to start up, especially when cold. I'm thinking this is something like a compression release or the like. My old saw used to have one of these.

As for the Rancher, I think there's a different style of tool-less chain tensioner. I'm not actually sure how the two tensioners differ from one another, but this one boosts the price of the saw up by $40 to around $400. Also, this model doesn't come with Smart Start, if that matters.

Personally, after looking around and reading all this, I think I'm happy with the base model. I don't need a plastic tool-less chain tensioner or Smart Start. All I need is a good ol' fashioned chainsaw that kicks ass. I'll update this thread if I find anything new or if I need to correct what I've already written.

UPDATE

Okay, apparently there's a big problem with Husqvarna chainsaws out there. What's clear is that the 450 and the 450E differ because of a self tensioning chain on the 450E, but nowhere can anyone explain the difference between the 450 and the 450 Rancher. There's some buzz about something called Smart Start, where the on/off switch automatically returns to the on position after someone turns the saw off, but that's about it. And I don't even know which model that comes on. They say the Rancher comes with a side mounted chain adjustment, but no where does it describe what that is. But they charge an extra $40 for it. It's so weird. Basically, what I think I'm going to do is buy the cheapest one I can get my hands on, no matter if it's a 450, 450E, or a Rancher. Also, I don't care whether it's got an 18" or a 20" bar. Ideally, I'd like a Rancher with a 20" bar, because I like cool sounding things with big bars.