Photo by Deb Gau Conservation officer Matt Loftness, at right, talked about Jim Zmeskal’s work as a firearms safety instructor as he presented Zmeskal with a framed wildlife print. Zmeskal said he was certified as a safety instructor 30 years ago, although he had helped out with teaching firearms safety before that.
MARSHALL — Jim Zmeskal said some things have changed since he first volunteered to teach firearms safety. But over 30 years, his goal has stayed the same — to help area youth stay safe when hunting.
Zmeskal and area DNR Conservation Officer Matt Loftness said there have been very few hunting accidents reported in Lyon County in recent years.
“That’s exactly what our goal is,” Zmeskal said.
Last week, Zmeskal was recognized by the DNR for his years of service as a volunteer firearms safety instructor. Loftness attended a firearms safety class that Zmeskal and fellow instructors Al Dale and Ozzie Arzdorf were teaching last week in Marshall, and presented Zmeskal with a framed print.
“To do anything for 30 years, that’s commitment,” Loftness said.
The Minnesota DNR requires young people to take safety training courses to be certified to get a hunting license, Loftness explained. As a law enforcement officer, Loftness said he comes to talk to students in firearms safety classes.
“But our instructors are the ones who put the classes on,” he said. “Without the instructors, our classes would never happen.”
Zmeskal, a retired state trooper, has had a lot of experience helping with firearms safety training in Lyon County. Technically, his experience goes back longer than 30 years, he said.
“I helped out, and then I got certified,” he said.
Zmeskal and other volunteer instructors have helped lead DNR firearms safety classes in Marshall, and in other communities in Lyon County.
There have been some things that have changed at firearms safety classes over the past three decades, Zmeskal said. He remembered students and instructors used to crowd into a room on the lower level of the Lyon County Law Enforcement Center that today is used for storage lockers. Now, classes have a lot more space, he said.
Over the past year, factors like the COVID-19 pandemic and the availability of online safety courses have also had an affect on how many area youth sign up for in-person safety classes. But while some things have changed over time, the core purpose and training in safety courses hasn’t changed, Zmeskal and fellow instructors said.
Firearms safety is all about teaching novice hunters “the right way to do things,” and how to safely handle a gun, Dale said.
One of the first things instructors do in class is show students a film called “The Last Shot,” about a hunting accident, Zmeskal said.
“We’re here to keep that kind of thing from happening,” he said.
In addition to classroom instruction, students will have a range day, where they will practice shooting a .22 caliber rifle, as well as other hunting skills like making a fence crossing, Dale said.
The work that Zmeskal and other volunteer firearms instructors do is crucial for safety in southwest Minnesota, Loftness said.
“Every student we can get certified means one less accident,” he said. Lyon County has had a low rate of firearms accidents ever since he started working as an area conservation officer, and Loftness said that’s a credit to the work that instructors like Zmeskal do.
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August 11, 2021 at 12:00PM
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