I can agree about the safety guard chains, I once had a round rock come out the front, it flew up behind me and up over an old hedgerow/tree line and into the next field, like someone hitting a baseball, went real high. I was running a bush hog brand rotary mower with out any front guards, behind a JD2010, was young, about 14 at the time, never forgot that one. Our ford cutter, had safety plates, instead of chains, I soon switched back to that unit.
My old SE-6 Rhino does not have any front guards, have not seen anything come out the front of it either, that old bush hog brand used to toss things out the front all the time, it definitely needed guards. I use my SE-6 in mostly clean fields and had done some clearing to make roads around the perimeter of our place, so my work areas are somewhat clean, I do like the fact that it does not send objects out the front or the back for that matter (not to say that it would not under the right conditions). Something seems to dampen the blow when it hits, everything stays under the deck, after running so many of these kinds of mowers, kind of a false reality, most others seem to launch objects out without hesistation.
Only thing I can add, is that if you get into areas where you will encounter rocks or other things, do walk the work areas, look for things that can get caught or hidden places where a tractor could turn over etc. Anytime you go into unkwown areas, covered with heavy growth, it's good practice, old fence posts, wire, junk and other things are good to spot before you start cutting. These things take quite a shock load when cutting brush, saplings etc. all that rumbling around can and will loosen things up, it's important to check the blade bolts and gearbox to deck bolts, make sure they are tight. If you notice excessive vibration when engaging the pto, something could be loose. If you break a blade, toss it, never weld one. Gearbox oil, seems to collect condensation over the winter, good to change it out and replace with grade specified. Chaff collects on the top of the deck, and most of these don't let the water run off, those stiffener bars trap the water, along with the chaff on the deck, it makes a mess, helps the paint come off and rusts the deck, good to sweep off the deck right after you are done, especially if it will sit outside. The inspection access hole to place a socket on the blade bolts on mine, allows water to pour in off the deck, and fills up the stump jumper pan until you use it, that pan can also load up with dirt, I tape the hole off, could also use piece of sheet metal, silcone'd in place.
Just some things I thought of regarding using one of these, which you may know already, I think of all the hours spent cutting with one of these since a kid, they do a lot of work for what they are and take some abuse too. I did see how the blade shear bolts work one time, a pair of round rocks got caught under there, could not get it lifted up in time ( good to have your hand on the lever when in places where you need to react quickly ) both blades came right off, I even found all the broken pieces, washers etc. One of the guys at the farm did not know the fields, sheared the bolt on the pto shaft after hitting a small rock outcrop, ( was marked too !) These things work like they should, always replace with specified type or part. Keep your tailwheel greased, on big fields, I'll get off for a waterbreak and give er a few pumps, that and the pto universal joints.
