I was putting a scope on my Ruger African, and managed to strip one of the screws. When putting the top of the ring on, that has 4 screws, the rings only come within about 3/16" of one another (I'm guessing). This leaves very little purchase to the screws. I picked up some longer ones at the hardware store that utilize the full length of the tapped lower portion of the base. The screws are the right length when put together without a scope...but on all of my rifles there is a gap that leaves less of the screw in the hole to hang on. I'm surprised Ruger doesn't provide longer screws with their rings.