system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why are gun scopes always on the top of the weapon? Doesn't this make it so the bullets are going lower than where you're aiming? Or does recoil make up for this?
gpt
Scopes never provide perfectly consistent aim over varying distances. You zero in a scope by adjusting it so that what you see in the crosshairs intersects with where you wish to aim **at a specific distance**. Obviously before that distance the bullet will be too high, and past that distance it will be too low.

Snipers and hunters learn to judge distance very well, so depending on how far the target is they can adjust their scope. Scopes can also be adjusted side-to-side to account for wind.