Eye Level Aiming vs. Stomach Shooting

One of the largest variances you will come across while playing paintball is the difference in positions people hold their markers with.  Some hold their paintball marker at eye level and some hold it as low as their stomach while shooting.  Every position has its ups and downs, and it’s all a matter of personal preference to which you use at which time. 

First on the list is the shooting from a low level, usually near the hip or stomach and sometimes closer to the chest. This position can lead to extremely inaccurate opening shots, but it can be corrected quickly by seeing where the paint flies and adjusting the aim accordingly. The primary advantage to this method is visibility; sight is not obstructed by the paintball gun being held on one side of the player’s vision.  This can make sneaking up on him or her quite hard to do if they pay attention to their peripheral vision.  This aiming position is not recommended at all for speed-, air-, or x-ball, and can be very difficult to use in a close-ranged game of woodsball.

The most common position is aiming from eye level.  This allows the player to see down the barrel and line up his or her shots.  Some paintball markers, like Tippmanns and power-feed markers, allow the sighting down the top of the marker, allowing a better lateral or horizontal shot. This is usually the preferred method of aiming because the first few shots are usually accurate, which means less “spraying and paying”.  This method has almost the opposite advantages and disadvantages of shooting from a low level.  Visibility is decreased due to the paintball marker taking up a third or a quarter of your vision. Tunnel vision is very easy to get using this method; the player is so focused on bringing down his target that he neglects to pay attention to anything else happening on the field. This leads to very painful outcomes.  This method can be employed in any format of game, ranging from airball to woodsball and beyond, and you will find most pro level players aiming like this.