Red/orange paint on No4 Mk1 barrel?

[harris hawk]

A friend has one and I had shared the blown up rifle thread with him, and he was curious about ht epaint on his barrel underneath the wood. Does that signify Canadian service, or something else? Thanks for any info.

Michael

Information

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[browningautorifle]

Red paint USUALLY means non standard weapon. Non standard ammo. It's painted on the outside in a wide band so any can see and usually the caliber is painted on too.

[A square 10]

it could also be the color code of a cadet use rifle ? red would indicate not to shoot it ....

[browningautorifle]

I thought white was Cadet use?

[Brian Dick]

A red splotch of paint on a barrel in British service means that something hasn't been proofed. In the case of an L42 I had; the bolt was a replacement, numbered and fitted properly but lacking the 19T proof of a factory L42 bolt. When the rifle was inspected, the red splotch of paint was added to denote that fact.