As for the "red" colour:
I recall that the Japanese treated the timber with Potassium Permanganate as a mould / rot inhibitor. Creosote works but it has a rather distinctive smell and is a nasty skin irritant, not "features" to be desired on a combat rifle.
On the other hand, Australian coachwood, as found on Lee Enfield and L1A1 stocks, often exhibits a faint whiff of Creosote, especially when "heated up".