Looking to buy a new saw for ice.I really don’t plan on cutting more than 12-18 inches.Any recommendations?Brand and model please.I do have a Stihl dealer close by.Thanks in advance.

I usually use my old 032. Never had an issue and plenty of power

I doubt you could go wrong with a Stihl. You mentioned the close Stihl dealer, for me that would pretty much steer me towards the orange and white saws.
Something in the MS311 range should work well for you. Bar sizes range from 16-25”.

If you are doing a winter beaver run bring two.You dont want to go out with all the traps and equipment only to be shut down or delayed cause of a saw malfunction or freeze up.

Get a stihl and You won't need two. Most of the time I use a 261 with a 20'' bar.

12 to 18 inches so mostly 9 inches. Get a good heavy chisel and maybe one of them ice saws. Better for the environment and will keep you young. An auger also works better for beaver than chainsaw once you get into 18" ice.

Ice auger never freeze up and now there are battery powered ones. All you need is a extra set of cutting blades gas or battery powered!

My axe always starts no matter how cold or wet it gets…just wish it had a bigger motor!

I recently used my 10" electric auger and it worked great, I just took my time cleaning the holes before proceeding to check for sticks and logs. Previously I always used an axe an chisel.

There are lots of ways that are fine for setting up a house.
But you need chainsaws when setting 6 or 8 house a day with a partner on a winter beaver run.

Drilling 6 holes is how I make a beaver set. 2 sets per house outside feed pile, I do carry a chain saw if we have to make a set in the feed bed when not much water depth.

I bought one of the battery augers and it’s great. Had to since having a gas motor close to my pace maker can mess with it. With thick ice a lot of time I start the holes close to my chest.

One year I trapped beaver in a mountain Creek where my nephew was building a gravel road. Had to use an extension on my auger. There is no chainsaw blade that long.

I want to try one of the electric augers.

How many beaver did you catch out of that house,lol.

I prefer a chainsaw and use an 046 with 20” bar. Often hit lots of sticks, peeled poles etc. Ice is rarely more than 24” unless there’s been a lot of overflow, which I am expecting this year. Starts to get too thick and I just move on. Plenty of houses.

Back when I hated Beaver bad enough to trap them through the ice I tried ice saws, augers and chainsaws. The ice saws were too labor intensive. I thought the 10 inch power auger was the way to go until I got too close to the feed pile and the auger grabbed a log and liked to broke my ribs. I had the best luch with an old Stihl 044 and a 24 inch bar. Being I was using it strictly (or mostly) for ice I ran vegetable oil in it and it worked great.

Not many I think thrive got too thick and they starved out. As I checked the next year and the houses were all abandoned. But I did catch a couple. The first one I pulled out my grandson said I cought agent P.

Yeah you hot one stick and your auger blade is dull.

No dog in this fight. But like most modern name brand equipment, they all are pretty good. I can remember Vehicles not starting in the morning as a kid. That don’t happen very often these days. Stihl and Husqvarna are big around here. It’s like green vs red in tractors. They both work. Buy for level of use, just don’t buy a home/light use saw and expect to run a logging company with it.

That being said, never sawed ice in my life. Same chain as wood? …and why does running a saw in the dirt dull it but not wood?

When beavers leave the house circle the feed pile froze in place under feet of ice from a long winter searching for good sticks to feed on. They are usually the older beavers in the house.

This is where an auger works best. I always trapped the outside of the feed pile and if I did hit a stick I would immediately move or chisel the stick out and keep going. I used a 2 to 3 inch piece of green bark cottonwood or aspen and 4 snares. Usually would take 2 beaver per house unless a cabin owner wanted them all gone.

If we had a request to clean a house out the chain saw was used and it is a SachsDolmar with a 30 inch bar. With the saw we could deal with shallow water and feed piles.

Snare only beaver trapper. Started early 70’s and every winter till 2012 when health issue put a stop to it. Still dream of my time doing it!