I've shot the Desert Stryker and was quite impressed. It balanced well and had no kick and little vibration. I've shot a Horton Recurve and found them to be a bit loud and clunky, plus the AV String stopper kept flyiing off after each shot (I heard Horton fixed that problem though). I shot a few Ten Points and was practically drooling at Jerry's Bait and Tackle in Milford.

I'm still a newbie to the joy of crossbow shooting and there are many people (well... probably everybody) who are more qualified than myself to give advice. I liked the Desert Stryker overall but sadly cannot afford the price.

DO you want a recurve or a compound, I guess, would be another question to ask back to you. Everyone here loves Excalibur and my friend downs one and sings it praises. I shot it once and was amazed at how smooth the trigger was. Go out and handle a few, see how they point for you and what YOU like and what YOU can afford to pay.

Good Luck and welcome.