Tag: NY elections

A Pre‑Election Editorial for New York’s Turkey Hunters and Outdoorsmen

© 2026 Mike Joyner — Joyner Outdoor Media

My fellow turkey hunters, deer hunters, waterfowlers, small‑game chasers, and every gun‑owning outdoorsman across the Empire State- we are 27 days from an election that will shape the future of hunting, gun ownership, and rural life in New York.

Twenty‑seven days. That’s one moon cycle. That’s the difference between a gobbler on the limb and a gobbler in the freezer. And right now, the people who hate our traditions are already lined up at the polls. Meanwhile, too many of us are still shrugging, still silent, still acting like spectators. In 18 days, early voting starts…

I’m going to say this bluntly: If New York hunters sit out again, we deserve every ounce of what Albany is about to shove down our throats, and up our backsides.

The Numbers Are a Disaster. They’re OUR Disaster

New York has an estimated 1.9–2.1 million gun owners.

Turnout research shows 35–45% of gun owners don’t vote in statewide elections.

That means: 700,000 to 900,000 gun owners in New York sit out elections.

That’s not “downstate runs everything.” That’s not “the city outnumbers us.” That’s not “my vote doesn’t matter.” That’s us – hunters, shooters, outdoorsmen – choosing not to matter.

In 2022, Hochul won by 311,000 votes. Our non‑voting bloc is double that. Let me put it in turkey‑hunter terms: We had a longbeard at 25 yards, broadside, standing still… and we never pulled the trigger.

Four Weeks Out – Hochul Is Still Aiming at Us

Governor Kathy Hochul has made it clear she sees gun owners as a problem to be managed, not citizens to be represented. She’s pushing:

• more restrictions,
• more enforcement,
• more regulatory pressure,
• more “public safety” initiatives that treat lawful gun owners like criminals in waiting.

And she does it with confidence because she knows the truth:

Gun‑control voters show up. Turkey Hunters, Gun‑rights voters don’t.

If you were designing a strategy to steamroll hunters and gun owners, you couldn’t ask for a better gift.

Turkey hunters understand commitment better than anyone. We get up at 3:30 a.m. We hike in the dark. We sit still. We wait. We methodically deploy our strategies. We put in the effort. But when it comes to the one essential thing that protects our guns, our rights, our hunting seasons, our traditions. we sit on our hands, we vanish. We act like Election Day is optional. We act as if someone else will handle it. We act like the gobbler will walk into range on his own. Without our skilled participation.

Here’s the brutal truth: If even half of New York’s gun owners voted, the entire political landscape would flip overnight. Not in theory. Not in fantasy. Not in some campfire “what if” story. In cold, hard math. But instead of voting like a Tour de Force, we’ve spent years acting like spectators. We let others decide our future. We let people who openly despise our traditions write the rules. And now we’re less than four weeks from another round of those rules.

**To the Hunters Who Vote: Thank You.**

To the Hunters Who Don’t: You Don’t Get to Complain. Put up or shut up. It’s that simple, the cold, hard truth. If you don’t vote, you helped write the next round of gun laws. If you don’t register to vote, you handed the steering wheel to people who want your guns destroyed or locked away forever. If you sit home on Election Day, you’re helping push New York further down the path of “gun control as cultural punishment.” You don’t get to bitch when the hammer drops. You don’t get to whine when the next restriction hits. You don’t get to act shocked when Albany tightens the screws again.

That’s All We Have. Show Up. Vote. Protect What’s Yours. We spend all year preparing for spring turkey. We scout. We pattern. We practice. We show up before dawn. We put forth the effort. Now it’s time to put this nonsense to bed, where it matters even more. If we fail here, we set the table for incremental encroachment that will eventually be outlawed and canceled, superseding any turkey hunt in the future, or any other hunting or fishing pursuit, for that matter. Not to mention protecting your own person, your family, your own home.

In my best New Yorker accent: You need to get off your ass, show up and vote.

Because if nearly a million gun owners continue to sit out elections, the future of hunting and gun ownership in New York is already decided…