Have you ever been out hunting and wanted to kill and eat wild rabbit but don’t know how to prepare one. Well this hub is for you. Learn how to prepare a wild rabbit for cooking once you have caught it. There is some “gruesome” bits so only read on if you have a good stomach.

1. First you need to kill a rabbit. You could do this with an air rifle. Make sure you are in an area where guns are tolerated, a .22 has more than enough killing power, and good accuracy. Typically, cottontail rabbits don't run away to escape you. Instead these rabbits like to hide, often in plain sight, behind the nearest bush, giving you a clear shot. There are also ways to trap them.

2. If you shot or trap only wounds the animal then you need to finish the job quickly and painlessly as possible.

3. Sorry but this bit is a little gruesome. You need to remove the lower half of each leg, and the head if you have not already done so

4. Now you need to peel back the skin at the neck. Then take one of the front legs by the muscle, and peel off the skin. If you're not going to use it, compost it, along with any other parts that you don't plan on eating. It is easy to remove the tail. Normally a quick, strong pull will suffice to get the white piece of fur off it, if it didn't come off with the rest.

5. Starting at the neck or just below the rib cage, cut through the belly as far as you can, then cut between the hind legs to expose the end of the small intestine

6. Get rid of the guts, keeping the liver and kidneys if desired. The organ meats are tasty, but can be quite "gamey" as well, depending on the animal's diet.

7. Cut the rabbit into pieces for easier cooking.

8. Panfrying the meat, with or without flouring or breading it first, is a first step to many rabbit recipes. It, of course, can be eaten at this point without further preparation, especially if you're hungry; and if the meat is too gamey, you may want to find out now before putting it into a stew.

9. At this point, if there's anything left, de-bone the rabbit and prepare it according to your favorite recipe.