Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Riding Mower Recomendations…..

for a Hobby, Bish, Rancher.

I’ve been using a JD 500 for a year now to do a lot of pasture mowing. It’s been a good machine with decent power that cuts through some fairly tall pasture grass. But, the ride is horrible!



Granted, my pastures aren’t golf course smooth. There is dips and swells from old Doug Fir stumps removed. Then there’s 100’s of mole hills that plague the 20 acres I’m trying to keep cut. After 4 hours on the machine, it feels like I need an organ transplant.

The JD 500, for a wheel driven machine, has pretty good zero turn abilities, which is essential. I’m mowing around at least 30 mature Doug and Noble trees.

I also have several slopes, guessing 25 degree grades that I can’t tackle with the mower going lengthwise for fear of rolling it.

I use a JD MX5 mower with 3 point PTO for ripping into rough stuff, then use the mower to maintain the cut. The riding mower isn’t ever seeing nice, lush, grass. It’s cutting weeds, new starts from blackberries, and whatever else grows wild besides the pasture mowing.

I would want the machine to have power, more power than the current JD 500 has. Have a solid reputation for durability, zero turn, and a better ride for my ass and body.

Spend is somewhere in the $18k range. Color doesn’t matter. Lol

What do y’all recommend?

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If it's for mowing, buy a mower.

That means ZTR.
Hustler, Exmark, Grass Hopper, Country Flipper, Kubota, Ferris,
Skag, somone will be butthurt the one they own was forgotten.

Don't matter.

They all buy off the shelf engines, driveunits, pto cluches....
The only thing they make is the frame and deck..




Gotta add.
All the above make cheap homeowner and top shelf pro models.
For acreage, be sure to buy a commercial machine.

A quick and dirty is the drive tires.
You don't want any model that has little tires compared to the ones
around it.

Look at Messick's on YouTube
They have a Video not to old about picking out mowers and they have some good advice on other videos about Equipment as well.

I have exmark ZTR, forget the model but its at least 54 inch. Kawasaki motor. in smooth terrain it's super nice. I have a cub cadet beater for the rougher terrain, but it beats the crap out of you too. My daddy swore by JD mowers, I never had one. I could get 2 or 3 cub cadets for what he paid for 1 JD.

Just be sure you get a Zero Turn…

Dude,

20 acres?

one word..................................not plastics (like in the movie)............................................









LIVESTOCK.



You can't eat grass, they can.

You spend money and time to keep that scheidt mowed, they do it for free basically just provide some water and shelter perhaps.

You ain't playing golf on it. At least if you put some goats or sheeps out there you could start a petting zoo and charge the Potlandianites to come look at the critters.

Don't want to take care of them yourself. Gotta be a dumb smart farmer out there that would lease that grass from you.

We have a Grasshopper, it's fine.

My little gas 52” Ariens/Gravelly zero turn mower is surprisingly powerful. There was an elderly couple from church that we did yard work for last Saturday. The grass was over 4’ tall and thick with all the rain we’ve had up until a week ago and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to tackle that with my mower. That mower tore through that grass and even my buddies that came to help were impressed. They, as well as myself, couldn’t believe that mower wasn’t bogging down in that tall grass but it wasn’t. I had the almost 2 acres of grass cut in about 2 hours.

I was over at a friends hay farm yesterday dropping off a zero turn. His daughter is getting married tomorrow and he wanted a finish cut on his hay field that was just cut so I dropped off an Ariens. He went through 10 acres of normal height grass in a few hours.

I have 8 hours on my new mower and about 600 on my John Deere. The difference between the two even though the engines are equally rated are incredible. The Ariens wins the mowing contest hands down. It’s far more comfortable and faster using the zero turn.

Good luck. 👍

What do u use on the mx5?

Didn’t know that…👍🏼

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When it comes to lawnmowers, I always suggest that you get the one most comfortable for your wife.

The challenge is, few of the residential grade zero turns have much of a suspension. Most rely on springy seats. So find the one with the most spring.

I hate animals. They always need something. I have a wife already.

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JD 4410

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Ferris was one of the most comfortable rides at one time

Pretty good suggestion. Wife goes all Kamikaze, ripping through stuff she shouldn’t be trying to mow. Need a mower that’s both bullet and wife proof.

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Never heard of Ferris…Still making them?

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Yes Ferris is fairly popular around here.

Oh wife proof. Then I would suggest...

I’m not sure how many months you have to mow. But 20 acres and no plans for goats or cows, I’d consider all the 4x4 with FEL tractor I could budget. Cab would be a perk.

Yes still are and looks like a lot of dealers in Oregon.