Have had basically the same experience, probably due to using a bunch of different safeties (and hammer guns) over the decades.
But it might also be due to my very first .22 rimfire repeater, a Marlin Model 81 tube-magazine bolt, also has a "backwards" safety....
My first .22 is a Glenfield bolt action (Marlin iirc) and it too has the “backwards” safety.
