Feel a quick intro is in order first -- been around firearms all my life but only recently got into hunting (bagged a turkey first time out this year! ), and moreso, just got into archery. Had the opportunity to try bow hunting last season, and while I had a great time out in the woods, a past shoulder injury made it a bit less than ideal. To top it off, I've managed at least 6 shoulder dislocations since the first of the year... hence, my decision to look into crossbows.

Spent the last couple days trying to learn what I can when it comes to crossbows and have finally decided on going with an Excalibur (lifetime warranty and ease of maintenance were the major selling points). After looking at what they have to offer I can't help but to wonder what is the difference between their "groups" of crossbows -- Ibex/Phoenix, Exocet/Vortex, Exomax/Equinox

As far as I can tell, they have almost identical specs with the only difference being the stock (traditional vs. thumbhole) and a $40-50 difference in MSRP. Anything else I'm missing? Any reason that the thumbhole stock would be preferred over the traditional (aside from aesthetics)??

Also, assuming money isn't much of a deciding factor, is higher velocity always better? Michigan recently lifted the 350 fps rule to make things easier. Only plan on hunting whitetail and turkey for the time being, but who knows what the future will hold. Could you reliably take larger game (bear, moose, whatever) with one of these?

Thanks for the help!