Sometimes a pad will just not lay flat against a stock. There seems to be the slightest space which light makes look worse. If the pad fits perfectly and the butt stock has been well finished and the space still exist then use a little epoxy. I coat the end grain of the stock with a thin coat of epoxy to seal the end grain. Then I add black coloring to a second thin mix and place it on the wood before I screw the pad down. Wipe off any that extrudes out the edges of the pad. It, the epoxy, fills in that paper thin area and help makes the pad fit like a second skin layer.
