303 safety catch-red paint?

[Gun-nut]

303 safety.png (745.37 KiB) Viewed 793 times

I'm looking at purchasing a lee enfield, and one that has caught my eye in particular has a bit of red paint on the safety catch which I've never seen, nor heard about before. Was this done post war by a civilian or by an armourer? I know red painted stocks would indicate a rifle for drill person as its unsafe to fire. Anyone knowledgeable about this area who could help out would be greatly appreciated!

[dnedative]

Its not a military thing, was done by a previous owner or importer.
Not a whole lot different to how mauser bolts have S and F crudely engraved by hand onto the safety flag by a lot of importers.

Stock markings also mean little; If the gun is DP it will be stamped, they followed the book accords the commonwealth.

[Blr243]

Done by some random I suspect so it can be seen easily esp in poor light

[Wapiti]

Bubba at work.
Bubba can't remember that swingin' knob is really a safety catch
Red means DANGER

[No1_49er]

Unfortunately, I think you will find that BUBBA is actually a puffed-up bureaucrat who can think of nothing better to do than imagine that a firearm user doesn't know the safe(ty) status of the arm.
Case in point - an acquaintance of mine imported a rimfire rifle that was designated a "military trainer" rifle. Au Customs required that there be a permanent marking applied to the action which showed a RED marking when the "safety" was in the "Fire" position, AND a GREEN marking when the "safety" was in the "Safe" condition.
Never mind that the word 'Safe' was roll-stamped into the action in the location of the safety lever.

That same individual imported a Vickers single-shot .22LR rifle; a rifle (Martini type action) that was produced without a "safety".
Major problem, again, with Customs.
Had to have a bu11-sh1t cobbled-up trigger blocking mechanism fitted before it could be released into, a now much safer, Australia.

I also believe that it is a requirement on (some) NRA ranges. You'll invariably see a lathering of red nail polish on, say, the flats of a swing-over safety tab of a Mauser.

The real stupidity is that none of my ISSF pistols has a "Safety".
Go figure, as the saying goes. Yep, bureaucracy gone berserk.

[Wapiti]

That's a good point.
You can't even have a workshop now without warning signs reminding you to put brain into gear before getting out of bed.

[Gun-nut]

Thanks for the replies fellas! It seemed to me that it was probably done by a civvie post war, so it's good to see that theory corroborated! Thanks again!