Flail Mower VS. Bush Hog?

I just sold my Ford 918H 91" cut flail mower. I also have a 6' brush hog as well. I depends on what I needed done. The flail mower had more maintenance than the brush hog, but did a cleaner job when cutting grass. I would recommend a flail mower for mowing light stuff that is not so tall or if you want a nicer finish. It did a nice job grinding everything up. There was a little more greasing than the brush hog. Also the blades would need attention. There were reversible, so when one side wore down, you could unbolt it, flip it and bolt it back on with a new edge. I also believe it's easier on the tractor and mower because if you hit something, you only have a few small blades of the many hitting it rather than two large blades hitting something. If you need some bushes or small trees cut, I would recommend the brush hog. I only sold it because most of the blades needed replacing and it was pretty heavy for my Ford 3600 diesel. Picking it up made the Ford really light in the front. I plan on finding something similar to a 918L. I don't need a mower made with 1/4" plate steel for mowing a few pastures.

Edited by albatros_3 - 21 Jun 2012 at 10:44am

I have a patch of bluegrass in my CRP ground. It had the best stand till I started mowing it with a brush hog type mower twice a year to keep weeds down. every time you mow, you windrow the left overs so that makes a strip that can kill out the grass and leave a place for more weeds to grow. From what I have seen, the flail mower will not have this effect as the cuttings are spread evenly.
 I use to have Brady flail chopper and sold it cause I couldn't pull it with the 45 in tall grass. Sure wish I had it now cause I think it would do better on bustin up the mulberry trees when I mow. Just have to mow narrower strips or mow B4 it get's too tall.

CTuckerNWIL wrote: I have a patch of bluegrass in my CRP ground. It had the best stand till I started mowing it with a brush hog type mower twice a year to keep weeds down. every time you mow, you windrow the left overs so that makes a strip that can kill out the grass and leave a place for more weeds to grow. From what I have seen, the flail mower will not have this effect as the cuttings are spread evenly.  I use to have Brady flail chopper and sold it cause I couldn't pull it with the 45 in tall grass. Sure wish I had it now cause I think it would do better on bustin up the mulberry trees when I mow. Just have to mow narrower strips or mow B4 it get's too tall.

My 8' doesn't windrow....spreads it out like a lawn mower.

I use a 7 foor Mathews Co Rotary Sythe in place of a hog. It takes lots of power in fine grass, course is a piece of cake. I bought it new in 76, only use it 20 acres a year maybe. It's an incredibly heavy built weed weapon with 10 grease fittings and an oil cup to drip on the drive chain.