That is the most important point I have been rolling around in my head a while. I am not sure when it started, but we were steered away from a civilian populace training with weapons in an organized fashion at some point to our detriment. I believe the NRA made this worse. I think they acted in a controlled opposition capacity to help steer us in this fashion. At any point people get together and start training they get put on a list and/or infiltrated. The pub meets that helped start the revolution would be much tougher to organize today. They have set up a pretty effective system to stomp it any time it starts to take form organically. To say it is highly discouraged would be a strong understatement.
The PRS had a chance, but really devolved into a high-dollar gear race. It’s the inevitable course once the money and prizes come into the picture. All the same, it is really popular and has driven a lot of civilian exposure to marksmanship especially at the club level.
And while I’m sure there’s every sort of opinion about the amcon thing (it’s a business like many others), it seems to be grounded in the right motives. More general preparedness than solely firearms training, but back in 2020 they wound up on a list of extremist militias either way. I’ve been out of touch with what they are up to recently, but enjoyed the content early on.