Hello,

There is no gap in the rings, its just light reflection. There is no binding and the alignment works smoothly when pivoting the scope into position.

and....

Yes, the front ring is .017 inches higher than the rear. I am not sure why. According to my calculations the bullet would impact 8 inches low at 50 yards because of this offset. Perhaps muzzle rise from recoil will bring the bullet up to aiming point. Test firing will see what happens. Regardless, the scope has adequate elevation adjustment to compensate for this offset.