Help! Non SASS help for SRH scope mounting.

[Smithy]

Help! I want to make sure I'm doing things right before I have a costly learning experience. I've mounted very few scopes in my many years of gun tinkering, some with great success and some not so much. Before I realized what a Leupold ring wrench was for I used the scope to twist in a standard ring/base set. Needless to say I ended up with a lovely dented scope. I've since got that Leupold ring wrench and have shied away from that type of mount. That's one reason I love Rugers since there is only one way for the rings to go on the built in mount. It's perfect for rube's like me. So now I have a stainless Super Redhawk that I'm working on and have cut and crowned the barrel to 5.5". The HUSH system holsters had a model that fits this barrel length with the scope that I've chosen, a Leupold variable, 2.5-8X32mm handgun scope. I did swap out the rings since the rings that came with the gun had a medium front ring and a lower ring to match in the rear since it's on an elevated platform.

 

I got Ruger's medium offset ring for the rear (the only height they offer in the offset model) so I had to go one notch higher for the front ring to match it. Why I did this is to offer a wider stance for holding the scope and the rings just kiss the objective bell taper as well as the eyepiece taper so the scope doesn't have a place to go horizontally speaking. A couple of added bonuses was that the front of the scope ends exactly where the muzzle ends and my eye relief is perfect for this position. I would like to get the order correct. I assume that it's lock the ring bottoms to the gun, then adjust the gun for level (eye relief is already set), then lock the top halves of the rings to the scope in a semi permanent nature. Would that be the right order?

 

My next issue is the fact that I have the Alumina pop up lens covers that they suggest I use blue loctite to secure in place. I got that, but even though the height of my scope has been raised, it's still too low to thread on the lens covers without being stopped by the gun itself. Now the front I can put some Loctite on the threads and turn it close to all the way, mount the scope/ring combo to the gun and finish positioning the lens cover. Not a problem. The rear however, has the added issue of parallax adjustment to futz with. The range I shoot at is limited to 25 yards, but I do wish I could take this rig on a hog hunt with my son in the future. Even with the scope, I know I won't shoot more than 100 yards and more likely will be 75 yards max and looking for a 50 yard or less shot if I can. So with all that in mind, at what distance would you suggest setting the parallax at? I can do that in the neighborhood with scope only and no gun so any yardage could be obtained. And am I correct in the assumption that adjusting parallax is to pick the yardage to set it at and bring into focus the reticle at that distance? Or am I adjusting the focus of the target at that distance? Or both?

 

Once you folks help me with the parallax thing I can drop a few drops of Loctite on the eyepiece and its lock ring and then do the same thing for the lens cover that was done for the front.

 

One last thing. All I have to level the scope is a Wheeler bubble level type of leveling tool, ie. put one on the gun and another on the scope and make them both level. I thought to use a more accurate (read longer than 1") level to get my revolver straight up and level in my vise and then sight at my garage door panels which I've already checked and are level. That seems easier to me than to rely on a 1" level making the scope level by sitting on its elevation cap. What do you all think on this one? Any suggestions or expert advice would be greatly appreciated. Smithy.