I hope I’m posting this in the right place - I’m brand new to the world of bolt action rifles and recently bought a Ruger precision rifle in .308.  I also got a nightforce shv 5-20x56mm and nightforce ultralite extra high six screw rings.

My question is about mounting the scope.  I was going to have the lgs’s smith do it, but after speaking with them I’m not so sure.  Now I’m thinking about doing it myself.  I’ve watched a few videos and read a few articles.  A local store has the wheeler mounting kit in stock.

Is it advisable for a newbie to mount it?  What else would I need beside the mounting kit?  I only have access to a 100 yd indoor range - is that sufficient?

Any advice would be appreciated.  Thanks.

I use a combo of stuff..I have two electronic levels , a plumb bob and a good gun rack if not working on a rifle with a bipod..
I level the rifle off the bolt rails, check to make sure the optic rail and the stock/chassis both fall within level as well, then set the scope on and set it for eye relief and everything..I then hang the plumb bob and insure the reticle is perfect to the reticle while maintaining the action level... takes a bit of practice to get it right but go slow and stick with it till its perfect...My final check is to sight thru it both right and left handed and feel if they scope is centered...

My basic scope tools...
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Thanks for the advice.  Much appreciated.  I’m gonna give it a go myself and see how it turns out.  I have a bipod, but no vice.  Will that be an issue?

Nope..all that matters is when you are done everything is in plumb..stock/action/rail and reticle...On my hunting rifle I use the bipod to set it all up...

Once you’re done with above advice take a 24” level to the range and draw a line and level it up vertically. Then test your tracking once you have a good zero. Then measure your group to make sure your scope is tracking the right amount.

Very true..should have added that..It is called a tall target test, I combine it with a box test..the idea is to insure. your elevation adjustments track straight up and they move the right Moa amount for the distance...the box test adds windage into it...All aiming is done at the center bottom dot, adjustments move POI to each spot..verifying plumb reticle and proper scope tracking...

Mine is 5moa per adjustment...(1.047"x5=5.235")
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Much appreciated.  It’s mounted.  Only took about 5 hours of reading instructions, watching video, measuring, leveling, adjusting, and doing it all over again....and again.  Dawgs were losing anyway - don’t think they’ll be ranked 2d come Monday.  I’ll find out tomorrow how well it worked out.

I followed your advice and got the scope, rail, and stock level and reticle plumb.  The odd thing is that when I look through the scope, the reticle appears canted slightly counter clockwise (11:58 instead of 12:00), but it also appears plumb.  I noticed that if I switch sides and look through it with my left eye, it appears slightly canted clockwise, but still plumb.  When I adjust the rifle so that the reticle appears the way it should, nothing is level or plumb.  Any idea what might be causing that?  Is it my eyes or did I get something wrong when I mounted it?

Mine does the same..that is you not the rifle...congrats...

Thanks.  Getting old ain’t easy.

I don't think I've ever once had a rifle that sat "level" in practice. To the point that on my non precision rigs I just get in a comfy position with the scope soft mounted and adjust it till it LOOKS level and I have the eye relief right for the position I will most use the rifle. The end result is NEVER level by the bubbles, but it means that in practice it's right. On the precision stuff where I'll actually check a level while shooting and that stuff will actually matter I do make sure everything agrees about what is plumb. I got sick of my other rifles always looking a bit off, and if I'm gonna be holding it that way then the scope tracks properly if I adjust it to be aligned accordingly. It is technically wrong, practically correct.