While Mainers busy themselves sighting in their rifles for the start of the deer season later this month, think about this: One hunter is dead.

Richardson Jacobson, a 47-year-old man from Casco, died Saturday from a gunshot wound while bird hunting with a group.

That’s one more fatal hunting incident than last year, and we hope it’s the only one in the current year.

Youth deer day is Oct. 23 and it’s worth noting that it hasn’t been an injury-free bird season for Maine’s youth. Two boys were involved in separate hunting incidents, and both cases remain under investigation, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

In one incident, a 15-year-old Charleston boy leaned a loaded shotgun against a tree and was shot in the hand when he lunged for it as the weapon fell.

In the other incident, a 12-year-old boy shot his twin brother in Fairfield, having missed the woodcock he had been aiming for. 

It’s not just children getting hurt.

On Friday, Scott Dumont of Auburn was shot in both legs by another Auburn man while the two were hunting grouse in northern Maine.

None of these injuries was life-threatening, but nonetheless frightening for everyone involved. And all three are a stark reminder how easy it can be for a mistake to become fatal.

Hunting accidents, incidents and fatalities in Maine are down, declining drastically in the past half-century. There are fewer hunters in the woods today than decades ago, to be sure, and the ones who are there are more safety conscious than in the past, largely because of Maine’s mandatory hunter safety program.

In the decade between 1959 and 1968, 65 hunters died in the Maine woods, and there were 451 additional incidents of people injured while hunting.

In the time between 1999 and 2008, six died among the 101 reported incidents. That’s a tremendous decrease, and one worth paying attention to.

It’s also worth noting that of all the hunting incidents in the past half-century, 50 percent of all injuries were self-inflicted. The second highest cause of injury was someone shooting at a hunting partner while firing through brush, unable to clearly see their target.

Hunting enjoys a long tradition in Maine, and one that helps many a family put food on the table. A tremendous part of respecting that tradition is respecting and obeying basic safety measures in the woods. Hunting is safe, if we’re careful.

Please, be careful.