There is really no difference between the various models that Remington produces. The SPS 700's and the Express 870's have a rough sand blasted finish that saves Big Green from having to do any polishing on the main parts before bluing. The sythetic stocks are a little cheaper to produce than the wood stocks. Other than custom shop rifles or PSS rifles, they all have the same quality rifle barrels. I once called Remington to determine if there was any difference, in terms of quality, between the various 700 actions; as I was led to believe that the ADL's were actions that were not good enough to be BDL's (and the ones sold by Wal-Mart were even lower quality yet). Not so, says the Remington Custom Shop. They all come off the same line.