A hydraulic system for a felling saw head includes a hydraulic motor, operatively coupled to a saw disc of the saw head, a hydraulic variable displacement pump, operatively coupled to the hydraulic motor to supply pressurized fluid to the motor, and a controller configured to control the pump. To provide a target operating speed of the saw disc, the motor is configured to operate at a first displacement corresponding to a first flow rate of hydraulic fluid through the motor During at least a part of a saw recovery operation, the controller controls the pump to operate at a current pump displacement that results in a flow rate of hydraulic fluid through the pump that exceeds the first flow rate through the motor. Saw recovery time may be reduced without overspeeding the saw by including a metered flow control device between the pump and the motor.