The 700P is in fact available to the civilian market. With it coming out of the LE shop the quality control should be better, only certain folks work the LE shop and everything gets additional attention/inspections, that is why they are more expensive than the standard line. Generally they are great shooters but like anything else occasionally you get a bad one. My dealings with the customer service from the LE shop has been much better than with the sporting side of the house, they seem to take a lot of pride in their work and they know that more is on the line than just a hunt, an afternoon on the range, or a trophy if their product fails when it is being used by its intended market.