I remember reading a long time ago that it was a sort of safety,
but then on reading around today it is said that no safety
was fitted to the rifle.
Safety is something I very rarely use as I have the habit of opening the bolt when I put an arm down and removing the mag and or rounds, and I tend to load one round at a time to slow down my rate of fire and to keep a rhythm and stay calm as I tend to shoot in fixed time competitions, and I do not hunt so to carry a loaded gun is not now a necessity for me
But as you said it is not really a safety.
I think I will read up a little before I post again.
I do like things that get my grey cells going.