Meet the real life gun-loving hunting wives who say ‘killing’ is the new wellness

Before we shoot, we meditate. 

It’s 10 AM on the edge of a sorghum field in South Dakota, and I’m standing head-down in a circle of first-time female hunters.

Soon, we will load our guns and attempt to shoot wild pheasants out of the September sky.

But first, Karen Butler, the founder of the female hunting and riflery organization Shoot Like a Girl, asks us to close our eyes.

Butler leads us through an exercise meant to ground us in nature.

What do I hear? The hum of insects, the panting of dogs. What do I smell? Wet earth. What do I feel? The weight of 14 shotgun shells in...