The X300 is a nice choice. For 2 acres with a 42" deck, I think I'd go with the Freedom 42 mulching deck. I picked up used GT series last year that came with the 42M deck. It does a incredible job with a nice cut. Even with taller grass that gets away from me now and then, raise the deck an extra 1/2" or slow down some and no problem at all. I've only got 3/4+ acres to mow, so a 42" works fine. Personally, I think bagging with 42" would be a lot of extra time than needed. 42" isn't all that big of a deck. An X320 with a 48" deck would be an option if bagging wasn't critical. It lists at the same $4K as the X300R rear bagger. I don't know how the mulching option works on the 48" deck, but I might look into that. You can bag with the 48", but with the powerflo requirement, that tractor becomes a bit like the lumbering beast you want to stay away from. If you would consider something other than bagging, I'd look at the Deere X300 with the Freedom 42" deck or the X320 with a 48" set up for side discharge or mulching. I think either would cut your time down more significantly and you'll see the greatest benefit from purchasing a lawn tractor. I guess if you have spent 4-6 hrs in the past, then any rider will be a big improvment.

Thanks for all the comments. I've gone back and forth on this decision so many times and looks like I'll go back and forth maybe another couple more times before deciding. Good thing is I have time to weigh the options. So the driving factors behind getting a lawn tractor are dealing with leaves in the fall and needing to cut the lawn more often during the growing season. I do own a regular mower, a leaf blower, and a weedwacker. I've tried many things to deal with these leaves. I've tried raking and bagging, leaf blowing and bagging, leaf blower mulching and bagging, mower mulching and bagging. In the end I, and sometimes my son too, end up being out there for several hours on the weekends cleaning up leaves during the fall. Things I've ruled out: so-called standalone leaf shredding machines, mowing the lawn twice (once to mulch up everything real small, and another pass to pick them up. I think my poor push behind would get bogged down trying to mulch all those leaves). I've decided to start a compost pile with my mulched leaves so maybe that will help by eliminating the bagging. I stopped by one of our local dealers the other day. One of the Toro mulching mowers (twin blades) was selling for $1000 I believe it was. Maybe a walk behind mulching mower would do better than what I currently have, not sure how much better though. Mine for the most part just throws the leaves in the bag with very little mulching. I saw the Honda HRX (about $700) where supposedly you can barely open the bagging opening and it will mulch up the leaves until small enough to pass through to the bag. It's not clear to me how effective this would be though and I have a feeling both these mowers would bog down with all those leaves under the deck. Part of my thought process was that instead of buying a quality new push mower, I could add some money to that and get a quality used tractor. Maybe I should look into how much it would cost for a lawn service to do my lawn in the fall. I do mulch the leaves into the lawn early in the season but it's not long after that that is no longer viable. As for the lawn tractor and the leaves, after some more reading, I concede the point about needing to empty bags just like you would with the push mower. Although, the tractor bags do hold more than the push mower bags. I see some people have opted to mulch the leaves and use a lawn sweeper in tow for pickup. Reason is the sweeper can hold much more and dumped easily. As far as cutting the grass more often, some have suggested that a push mower might be just as fast if not faster than the tractor. I don't know. A couple of my neighbors (tractor owners) lots are about the same as mine and I start mowing before them and they finish before me. It takes me 1 hr 15 mins walking pace. Doesn't take them more than 45. Actually one of my neighbors does 2 yards in about the time it takes me to do mine. He does have one of those Deeres with the foot pedals so maybe that helps. If I do go this route that may be the way to go. As for the leaves, one of my neighbor uses a bagger and it goes relative quickly. Although he doesn't have the leaf volume that I do and he goes over it about twice a week. He doesn't allow it to accumulate. My other neighbor goes the old fashioned route (rake, leaf blower, bag). He's got 5 huge trees that are all by his property line in the front so the area he has to cover is small. Plus much of those leaves fall on the road and just get blown into my lawn, increasing my leaf volume considerably. As far as buying used, if I go that route, maybe I can pay a lawn/garden tractor mechanic for his time to check it out for me. Same as you would for a used car purchase.

reply by theodocus struck me as coming from the desk of the ad agency of MTD. No mention of the actual operation that involves rolling over uneven terrain and jarring action from bumps and uneven spots and the fragile fabricated axles that bend and crack easily. Oh, there is also the bushings used in place of ball bearings: bushing use requires higher horsepower to move the newer units. The Deere has points and condenser; cost $5.00 and 9.00 respectively and the sears is a solid state igntion. Newer technology is wonderful as long as it is coupled with quality assemblage in a product. I have a 1968 Sears GARDEN tractor with a 12HP Tecumseh Heavy duty cast iron engine with ball bearings and cut with a 42 inch deck and also have a 1976 John Deere GARDEN tractor with a cast iron 10 HP engine with ball bearings and cut with a 42" deck and use both alternately for mowing two acres and for tilling and moving earth, etc.. Each has cast iron axles and mutli-speed hi-lo transmissions and EACH is used for plowing, snowblowing, tilling earth, hauling 1100 lb loads in attached large carts. EACH will run circles around the new 20 plus HP light LAWN tractors made today. Spend 5,000.00 and you will have a comparable heavy duty GARDEN tractor. By the way, good luck on getting even 10 years of use with the new wonders.

Every property brings its own special needs to the table and all too often, there is no such thing as one machine that will do it all. A fifteen acre horse farm that has horses will also have enclosed pasture areas for daily turnout. Horses are gourmet-type eaters compared to other livestock. The love to nibble on tender grass but the won't touch weeds. You are going to need a true CUT with a seven or eight foot three-point finishing mower on it or you are going to spend way too much of your time cutting grass. You will also need a regular lawn tractor to take care of areas close to the house, stable, outbuildings, driveway, around trees, flower beds and to open up the pasture for the big mower by making a pass next to the expensive fencing. If you clobber the fence with the big tractor, you may end up with two repair bills. One for the fence and another for the damage to the mower or tractor. You can either look after the fence lines with a string trimmer or you can spray Round-up around the posts and directly below the fence boards twice a year to eliminate the grass and weeds. I also suggest that you install an electric fencing system on your fencing to protect it and your horses. It's easy for us to sit back and make suggestions but this also comes down to your budget. In my opinion, you are better off with a low hour used CUT than you are with a brand new 700 series Deere or equivalent. Time on a horse farm is a precious commodity because there is always something in need of repair or upgrade. Horses require a lot of daily attention and there are only so many hours available. So, choose wisely or you will quickly regret making the wrong choice.