Newbie help with mounting and sighting scope

[UCOLA]

Okay few questions,let me give you the gist of what I'm dealing with
Browning xbolt 308 stalker
Nikon 3.5-50 Bdc scope
Browning xmounts

Okay first things first so I mounted the mounts with them both of the mounting rails facing the furthes towards barrel, correct me if I'm wrong

One of my problems is that the back of scope mount flush on rear mount but I see a small gap under the front mount, not sure if that's fine or needs correcting

The last question I have I may have more is how do u make sure crosshairs are straight and level and the other is how tight do the rings have to be on scope?

[Whiterabbit]

rails might require fitting.

[Whiterabbit]

Good luck leveling the crosshairs. Noone can tell me a GOOD way to do that. Here's how I do it.

I hang a plumb bob out as FAR as I can get it. Then I use a machinists level (NOT a carpenter's level!) to level the scope mount rail. It's not a good datum point, but if my rails aren't lined up with the bore, I have bigger problems. I'll clamp the rifle so I can work with it without worrying about losing my level.

Mount the scope on, and rotate to line up the crosshairs with the plumbbob.

Verify at the range by shooting the box. If the box comes out diamond shaped, start over.

This is not how to mount a scope. Just how I level the crosshairs.

--------------------

I recommend 25-30 in-lb for torque spec. But if you want maximum holding power (due to screw tightening), your greatest strength will be from making sure you torque up even, not from a spec. I'd rather have a scope with ALL bolts torqued to 25 in-lb rather than one with all the bolts a different torque.