I'm new to hunting as a whole and wanted to get the right advice before I go out on my own. I'm Parker Word, 21 years old from west Tennessee but live in east Tennessee for college. I've always been interested in hunting but never had a means of getting into the sport. Over the past few months, I decided that I'd like to get into hunting. I did a lot of research about firearms and what would be good and would work with my budget. I decided that small game was a great place to start since there isn't such a learning curve and it isn't as expensive or resource-dependent as waterfowl or big game. I got a Savage 93r17 F w/ Bushnell 3-9x40 scope chambered in .17 hmr. I still need to go to the range to sight in and get some practice but I have my licenses and hunter safety plus have shot a variety of guns so I'm not totally starting from square one. I am planning to go raccoon hunting sometime this winter and would love advice. I have watched a handful of videos on hunting and processing so I'm gaining as much necessary knowledge as I can before going out. My one specific question was, what to do with a [raccoon] caress after skinning if I was going to eat the meat and if I wasn't going to eat the meat? I understand it’s best to use all that we can from the animals but want to deal with the caress properly. Looking forward to the advice and responses! Thank you.