Cutlass leveling - more rep per swing? (not)

[Cannon Mad Dan]

I've noticed in all of the guides, the general consensus is "the more times you hit the enemy, the more rep you get". Which seems true at first glance: I hit a level 6 soldier 17 times, and get 17 rep. However, I go to the same level 6 soldier, and hit him maybe 9 times using combos, and get 17 rep.

Now, using my pistol, shooting 20 times yields more rep than shooting four times with Take Aim. It seems to only be this way with cutlass. Is it the exception?