Stihl MS 880 Magnum Questions & Answers

I think it was about $2600, I was very disappointed with it, I still use it as a cross cut saw, but for ripping I use an 090 much more powerful although heavy

Bars from 17" to 84" can be used on a MS880, I do run 21" on one of mine.

I run a 25” for smaller rounds but always on hard fwood, a 460 or 660 would cut just as fast with a 21”bar, would be overkill but can be done easily

I’ve had MS880mag for 4 years. It’s been a real let down. Spend lots on it and it’s just always being fixed. It’s gutless can be hard to start seams to need tuning often. Compared to my 090 it’s a toy. The 090 makes 3 cuts while ms880 won’t complete 2 cuts. It nice to use when it’s working properly . I can see me ever getting an other MS880.

Off the top of my head I think you would use about a tank an hour, you cannot expect great fuel consumption with a saw of this size. I'll restate how much fuel it uses, slabbing blue gum and ironbark with a 50 inch bar I would say 20 minutes to half an hour even that could be an over statement, but running out of fuel is a welcome rest.

With cash back, from memory it cost around $2600, they still make the ms880 and from what I've read they haven't changed the design, if you're not after a huge saw, the MS 660 or 661 I think it's called now is an extremely capable saw and more practical, will easily run larger bars also

I think the retail was around $2700, there is nothing else that compares to the MS880 which had a major upgrade in 2011, there really is not any other equivalent to the 880 except the Husqvarna 3120 119cc which is a very old design and and does not perform as well as the Stihl, also I have run bars to 72" on the 880 with the appropriate chain and no problems. If you are cutting commercially as I do time is money, and the 880 cuts at double the speed of a 660 or 395XP.

I fell for the biggest cable logger in the southern hemisphere. I regularly encountered trees 14 ft through. My saw would use 12 litres of fuel a day, and I would not walk it out of the cable slope. It stayed there for months till the slope was finished. My saw of choice was a 3120 xp. And had used the ms880 with upgraded "looks", which is still a relatively old saw. LOL! It does not run the extra lube that the 3120xp does, and honestly struggles to keep bar tips lubed beyond a 28" bar. It Revs however. And if you want hp falling pine plantation it can more than match the 3120, but parts are 5 x dearer! The 3120 achieves its power through torque, and when the going gets tough, it is governed about 2000 rpm lower than the stihl so it lugs heavy and won't fly to bits. But don't ever run stihl chain on a 3120xp, it will pull the eyes clean out of the drive links. Stihl 404 chain has a much smaller pin through the chain and simply can't handle the torque of a 3120xp. And if you want any further evidence, watch any YouTube competition. The ms880 is at least 2 seconds behind the 3120xp in any given cut. The only other major difference between these 2 saws is one uses rubber engine isolators and one uses springs. The rubber will eventually go soft and need replacing, the springs will not. The both use Walbro carburettors, so any argument on which starts better is null and void.