most of new crossbow hunters dont know difference between recurve/compound when buying that first one..
they just hear this one is good or that one.

then you have shops pushing a certain mnfg,like horton for example.

that may change as places like bass pro shop/cabaleas are letting hunters try different bows and offering opinions..

the last thing most new hunters are looking at is mainteance of bows..most is what does it cost..

most dont have problems for years after they buy because they dont shoot bow much more than 15 or 20 shots...
they bought it for hunting and most dont do a lot of shooting.take it out each year,3 shots or so,out hunting they go..

like me, i have horton,its nice compact bow BUT i hate wheels,cables and cant change string.

BUT i shoot a lot more than most hunters i know..
2 things willcause hunters on first bow to go to recurve,COST/SPEED..

that are things that most i see look at,if new recurve say from horton is FAST/CHEAPER,they will buy it,if not, they will stay with compound..

average hunter,PRICE is what they look at even tho the repairs could be more expensive down road,they dont shoot enough to cause much to happen...