Well done Billy. Welcome to P.E.T.A. ! ( People eating tasting animals ) We have plenty of Rabbits down here in Fla. Marsh rabbits, and cotton tails. Not too much differenct between them cept the coloration. Only problem, most of the Rabbits down here have tape worms, and what we call " Wolves " Don't know if that is just a colloquial name, or factual. Anyway it is a parasite that is reddish brown, and with little spine like things on it, and it is round, and sort of tapered at each end. I have eaten Rabbits, when I was younger, but don't hunt them now. Cowboy the " R "thing probably is because those are the cooler months. There is a myth about that down here for the oysters. I talked to a Marine Patrol Officer, and he said it was a myth, and sometimes the oysters will get a little discoloration during the summer months, but they are still ok to eat. I don't eat too many Oysters, though I do truly love them, raw, fried, baked, stewed, what ever. But I have a friend of mine who is an Epidemiologist, and she said that there is not an Oyster bed in the U.S. that is not polluted. She never eat any raw shell fish, Clams, Oysters, etc. . Only eat them if they have been fried, stewed, or baked. She said not to eat any steamed clams either, because steaming doesn't kill the bacteria. Just the clam.
But I am glad that you did not kill the Rabbit just to kill it. Always glad to see a hunter with good ethics. Yeah, the tails, would be good string silencers. Only problem is they kinda shed.
Wayne