One of the more interesting parts of teaching rifle marksmanship is explaining to students that the sights (or optic) are not parallel with the bore of the rifle, but are actually on a downhill slope. When the sights are (roughly) parallel with the ground, the barrel is pointed up, and the bullet rises to intersect with the selected zero (where point of aim meets point of impact).

It’s a difficult concept for some to get, but Sig Sauer Academy’s Adam Painchaud does a pretty good job of how you deal with that distance offset by learning the holdover of your rifle for accurate shooting “inside your zero.”