Can someone please provide info on the history of S.W. Silver's orange/red recoil pads?
About what year did they first appear? What sorts of rifles and calibers typically had them? Were they more common on shotguns than rifles? What gunmakers offered them?

A friend and I were recently discussing whether they were the correct "vintage" for a 1940s sporting Mauser and whether it would have been considered appropriate to fit one to a rifle in .30-06, or whether they were mostly used on the bigger bores.

I suppose old catalogues and period photos would be the best evidence for how and when they were used, because someone could always fit one decades later, depending on how tastes changed.

Thanks!

..