I'm glad you wrote about this, Elizabeth.
I live in EG, on the cove by Scalloptown Park. I am shocked that hunting is "legal" here. I hear gunshots quite often, and have made my fair share of calls to both the EG Police and DEM. I have seen hunters in camouflaged skiffs, motoring around the bay, shooting at (assumedly) water fowl. I have been told that as long as the hunters are shooting across the water, 500 feet away from my dwelling, they are following the rules. Often, the gunshots are extremely loud, and clearly too close to my home and/or being shot from the Warwick side toward the EG side. When I suspect the hunters are too close, and I call DEM, I am always told that there isn’t much they can do. Sometimes, they send a DEM employee out by car or boat, but by the time they get to this area, the hunters have usually, most likely, gotten their daily fill of killing things and vacated the area.
I would like to think that most hunters are following the rules. But truthfully, there will always be that one guy who doesn’t… He will be shooting too close to our homes, or with a non-compliant firearm, or not completely “across open water”. Sadly, I suppose it will take an accident involving a “stray” bullet being lodged into someone’s torso, for the rules to change. I think the cove is too populated, with too many people enjoying it by shore or by kayak, for hunting to be allowed.

Hunting of ducks on the cove is a fall and winter thing . Being a kayaker and Hunter , not of ducks , I fing it HIGHLY UNLIKELY , that hunters would encounter someone in a kayak in freezing tempatures , and if someone walking the shorline is dumb enough to walk IN FRONT OF said hunter , then they should not be there . Just my opinion .

Are hunters shooting towards Scalloptown Park? I walk there year round along with many other people. Hate to think that any of us are in danger of an errant bullet.

Seems unnecessary to allow it in such a densely populated area with dwellings along crags etc. Should be stopped.

First off, maybe you need to learn how far 500 feet is. Second maybe you should read our State's Constitution. It clearly reads residents of our state will have access to the shore, from the waters edge to10 feet above the high water mark, to hunt, fish and gather seaweed. As long as the hunters, fishermen or hikers do not cross over private property. I just wish people would take time to know the law, before making such comments. The hunters have rights too. And mark my words, if those hunters were in violation of the law. The DEM Police would have been all over them .

On Facebook, John Chace left this comment, which is relevant, I think: "No one will suffer a bullet in the torso from a Duck gun. They only shoot small pellets made to bring down small ducks."

Muzzy, no offense but I do not care about some antiquated law and hunters rights in areas that are much more populated then when the laws were established. Hence the Town of East Grenwich does NOT allow such hunting in its limits. If a bullet cannot land in EG from where shots initated I quite frankly don't care.

Very true, the maximum range of a shotgun is not even close to that of even the smallest rifle calibers. This is the reason that the state law requires 500 ft away from an occupied dwelling. What people are really complaining about here is clearly pointed out by the first person to comment, they don't like hunting or the people who hunt.

Good point, Elizabeth!!

Duck hunters use shotguns which fire "bird shot" NOT bullets. Would someone like to weigh in on this and tell us the distance #2 shot will travel ??

Not all hunters follow the rules. I know this firsthand because I've seen some hunters disobeying them (and yes, I called DEM, but they cannot do anything unless someone is breaking the law in front of them). I'm also sure those VERY loud bangs some mornings are not Duck guns, but a much more high-caliber weapon. Even still, I would STILL hate for my 5-year-old to get shot in the torso with small duck pellets. Perhaps he wouldn't die or be severely maimed, but I'm willing to bet that the guy Cheney shot wouldn’t say that it felt good. Hunters have rights, sure, but the laws need to be reassessed as time goes by.

Great Robert, so because YOU don't like the law, please go ahead a violate it. Then when you get sued for violating someones constitutional rights, you have nobody to blame but yourself. There is also a law which protects hunters from being harassed by people like you who are ill informed. Further more, the town ends at the shore line, therefore it is not within the "town limits". It is now within the jurisdiction of the State, exactly why it is enforced by DEM police. Thanks for firming up the points made in my previous post.

Quick internet search: Maximum distance #2 shot (duck/goose load) travels is about 300 yards. At that distance it is basically falling to the ground with no velocity. IE: it wil not hurt you !!!.

Bridget,
The amount of sound you hear depends on several things. Time of day, wind direction, fog, wind speed and so on.
Any caliber over .22 center fire, is illegal in the state of Rhode Island (a very small round). A shotgun with a 3" shell is very loud, and if the wind is blowing towards your home, it could sound very close by. Yet if the wind was blowing away, it could be almost undetectable.
There is no way people are attempting to take waterfowl with rifles. What you are hearing is shotguns, that are 100% legal.

I have heard shots while walking on the loop road in Goddard Park on several winter mornings. It is a little disconcerting, and you start to wonder if you should be wearing an orange vest!

Actually, you should wear some eye protective gear - it’s the ricochet from the bullets you should be concerned about.

Thank you, Elizabeth, for addressing this topic. I had been told some time ago that the hunting was permitted in the Warwick area of the Cove as you indicated, but like so many others, I too am troubled by the gunfire in such a heavily populated area, and I question whether is should be legal. It may not be important to others, but this gunfire scares my dog and unnerves me when I am at Goddard (an almost daily experience). I am happy to sign a petition if someone is willing to initiate action!

AR,
Sorry, I deleted your comment by accident. You'd asked where hunting IS allowed in East Greenwich. You were correct – it's allowed west of Route 2, depending on permissions from property owners of private land.

Muzzy sounds like the only one involved in this discussion that has a clue.

Elizibeth, your "Whew" makes me believe you are anti hunting. Did you look into the fact that funds from hunting licenses and permits go towards protecting wildlife and wildlife areas.I wonder if a dollar from "Robert" or anyone like him ever went to this cause. I know of no hunting related accident in the cove. Perhaps you should get your "facts" about hunting in East Greenwich from a reliable source, the East Greenwich "line" stops at the high tide mark. Hunters have been in that corner of the cove long before the dog walkers. Bridget, you know some hunters who don't , "Follow the rules." I don't believe you know much of anthing about hunting or the "rules." I don't know of any hunter that would mistake a kayaker for a duck, but I personally wouldn't choose to paddle my kayak through someone elses duck decoys.

Hi Housewife - I have seen first-hand, two men hunting ducks, in a camouflaged skiff, in the middle of the cove, pointing toward residences. I know they have discharged in an area that is clearly too close to the homes here. I also believe there have been times when someone has discharged weapons other than those allowed...(and I am aware that the wind and direction the gun is pointed play a part in how loud the shot would be.) If you would read my posts again, you may realize that I say MOST hunters probably DO follow the rules. I believe this. My point is, that not everyone abides by the law, and in my opinion, the cove is just too populated and too small of an area , making the potential for accidents to occur that much greater. Luckily, I don’t recall there being any accidents yet, which we are all I’m sure, thankful for. Also, I have never claimed to be an expert on hunting laws - I am simply expressing my opinion, as have you.

I've posted a second story on this issue here: http://eastgreenwich.patch.com/articles/hunting-on-the-cove-part-two

I love to walk my dog at Goddard Park.
The shots from the guns are scaring the daylights out of him!!!!! Our usual walk is impossible now. He refuses to move once he gets on the road where he has heard the gunshots.
It's unnerving for me, let alone my dog.

BETTY, Well thank god the rights of your dog haven't been determined more relevant than the people of this state. PS. My dog loves nothing more than the sound of a shotgun going off. That means he has a duck to retrieve, and that's by far what makes him the happiest. You wouldn't want to take that away from him would you?

I would suggest that if you are going to express your opinion, you would take the time to educate youself on the topic. It is clear that most of the people who have chimed in on the topic are ignorant to the game laws, the city and town property lines and our states most important document. Their comments are base on fear and false statments that they have heard from the mainstream media.
(Housewife in EG, thank you for your kind comment)