To be honest with you I'm not sure where to get a reel mower for home use besides the cheap ones at HD and lowes for straight push. The blades are tricky to maintain also.
Used would be a viable option. Buy an older one at a garage sale sometime and see if it performs to you're satisfaction. They are fairly common in the middle midwest here like you and me.
I have bermuda here and use a rotary Lawnboy on it with good result. Mine will go down to 1" but I never mow at that level because of all the steep grades on our properties. I stick to 2" and it seems to do well. I know everyone always told me to mow it as short as you can but It just did not work out for me.

I'd say the Honda would be a good choice.

Search this archive for better advice.

Here is a link that might be useful: lawn care forum

packhorn, just read your note. just my 2 cents worth here. i am also a golfer and have a new home (3 Years) with tifway 419 on it. i wanted that fairway look and for the first two years tried to achieve that with a rotary. impossible due to the swirly marks that are left by the blades. this spring i bit the bullet at the urging of okcdan and purchased a tru cut 20 inch. it's an awesome peice of machinery and i'm currently cutting my lawn at about a half inch. being this is my first summer with the reel mower i'm anxious to see if i will be able to continue mowing this low through the summer months here in ft. worth tx. time will tell. but i will say the cut is second to none versus a rotary. if you don't mind dropping the money i'd highly recommend a power reel mower. you will love the performance and cut.

S'pose I autta throw in my 2 cents....

Virtually every single house (with very few exceptions) in my neighborhood has bermudagrass.

99% of all the homeowners with bermudagrass mow around 1-1/2" to 2" up to maybe 3" with rotary mowers, and most the lawns look okay.

Some mow way too infrequently & their lawns really look like $#!+.

Very few mow very low/short (one guy in particular with a Lawn Boy about a block away) and no matter how hard he tries he leaves the dreaded rotary swirl marks.

If you really want the thick dense short fairway looking bermudagrass there's only one way to do it..... Buy a reel mower.

Keep your Murray....you say you got it running again? Mine's 8 years old now, I use it from time to time to mow the neighbor's lawn (he's up in years & health not so good) and I also use it to do clean up in spring/fall. You could use yours in that area of creek frontage & stuff. Now that it's running again, take care of it. Change the oil each year. Keep the blade sharp. Always use Sta-Bil in every can of gas you buy for your lawn equuipment. You can use your rotary Murray to mow while you decide what reel to buy. (Or while you look for a reel to buy.)

You've obviously read many of the posts in this forum so I won't belabor the opinions of which brand is best. (But the Tru-Cut is best) 8^)

Is it foolish (or necessary) to really want both?

Nope. Keep ur current rotary. If you really feel you need to upgrade the rotary, go ahead, but if you take care of the one you have, it'll last longer than you think. Splurge for the reel so you can have the golf course look you want (Buy a used one if you don't wanna spring for new, I did & only spent around half.) I get many comments of praise from friends/relatives who come by to visit, but what really makes it worth it is when folks I don't even know just stop to tell me how good it looks. It seems to make it all worth while.

You can't make it look like this with a rotary:
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My 2 cents....

Good day, Dan

Thanks for the feedback guys. I was a little apprehensive about dropping almost $700 on a mower that might end up to be overkill if the yard comes around and I eventually go with a reel unit.

I'd love to be lucky enough to get as good a deal as you got on your Tru-Cut okcdan, as it would make this decision all that much easier for me to make. But, I haven't been able to identify a Tru-Cut dealer in Tulsa. I haven't ventured to OKC since moving here, but Professional Power seems like the place to go. Unfortunately, neither I nor my girlfriend have a vehicle that would make transporting the beast very easy. When is the "off season" when I might expect to find a good deal on a trade-in or demo model?

My next dilemma will be trying to get the yard level so that a reel mower wouldn't scalp everything up in the low spots (not to mention portentially take some damage). I think I'm due for a core aeration, followed up with some topdressing with builder's sand.

well, i will tell you packhorn that i drove from ft. worth up to OKC to pick mine up just because i save over 300 bucks by doing that. i was surprised but the 20 inch mower isn't that large and depending upon the vehicle that you do have it may fit into the trunk...that's just a thought. there was another post on this forum title how much for a tru cut and currently it's on page 4 about a guy looking to sell his 22 or 25 inch tru cut so you might try to check that out. off season here in texas is generally from october through late february or march. i know that when i went to OKC they had plenty of used mclains but i did some research and decided to just take the hit and purchase the new tru cut. agree with OKC dan, a rotary will not make your yard even come close to what his looks like. the more level the yard obviously the better the cut. my has MANY lumps and bumps due to it being fairly new (3 yrs) and the reel mower doesn't scalp at all because of the way they cut. if i were trying to cut my yard with my rotary at the same height there would be and has been swirly marks all over my yard. core areation is good. everything that i've seen on this forum IMO would suggest that spring time is the appropriate time for that. i also go by when golf courses areate and that's when they do it as well, just not sure if it's a good idea or bad idea to areate now. my plans are to level my yard beginning next spring with some excellent sand and screened topsoil. good luck during your decision making process. it's fun but can be a real pain!!!!

Hey packhorn, I'll agree with ajones...you can get it in the trunk of a small car.

See the little Kia behind my mower? It's the same car I brought the mower home in & the same car I used to take the mower to the local golf course mechanic to have the reel & bedknife tended to.
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Yeah, most likely Pro Power in OKC is your best bet, I bought mine in February...they'd just taken in a couple on trade, mine was owned by a guy who upgraded from the 20" to the 27"

Good day, Dan