Husqvarna 455 Rancher 20 in. 55.5cc Gas Chainsaw, 970515720

I heat my home with wood- we spend labor day weekend cutting and splitting wood every year. Several years back I decided it would be worth my money to buy a "good" saw, so I spent a stupid amount of money on a Stihl, and MS270 to be specific. At first I couldn't keep it running past a half a tank of gas, turns out they didn't put the fuel filter on the fuel line from the factory, it has the weight to keep it at the bottom of the tank. I took it to the dealer several times and they told me I just didn't know how to start it. Over the years I've had to replace parts, most of which are cheap plastic and just wear out. I literally use the saw a weekend or two a year. This year is no different, cutting on Saturday and the chain brake broke. No dealers had the part in stock. I puled the brake off because I needed to keep cutting. Saturday morning, pull start wont work, the little plastic feet that engage when you pull the cord just disintegrated. I replaced those just last year! Obviously I wasn't happy. Decided I needed to buy a saw because I couldn't afford to stop cutting. I looked around online and decided to give this saw a go. I was considering a 24", but the 20" was already bigger than what I had (18") and I was worried the 24" would be a little under powered. Thankfully they had it in stock at my local TSC in St John, IN, and I had room on my Tractor Supply card for this unplanned purchase! I bought the saw and the 2-pack of the full chisel chain from TSC's house brand. I don't waste time with safety chain. Put the new chain on, gassed and oiled it up, and went to work. This saw runs circles around the Stihl, it's not even a close comparison. It plowed right thru some real tough wood, and starts very easy to boot. I worked it for 6 hours straight, 5-6 tanks of gas, not one hiccup. Finished up the next day very pleased with the saw. A few things- first, if you need to change the blade make sure you disengage the chain brake before puling off the cover!!! Can't stress this enough. I though I had it off but didn't, and you're not getting the cover back on with the brake engaged. It was a hassle to remedy the situation, lesson learned. Second, blade tensioning is a little more of a hassle to do compared to the Stihl. You have to use the supplied tool to loosen the bar nuts and then the screwdriver to adjust blade tension. On the Stihl its a tool-less procedure. We will see how it holds up over time, but overall I am very happy with this saw purchase. It is build very well, seems like more metal parts than plastic so that's good. Hopefuly I can get ti paid off in the next 6 months to take advantage of the interest free financing.

Don’t buy it at TSC. They refuse to honor the manufacturer discount for mil/first responders. They’ll also try to sell you an extended warranty that you can get for free if you purchase a gallon of Husqvarna fuel at the same time as the saw purchase.