Guns have never been very difficult to buy illegally. They are readily available on the street, with a contact usually made in a bar or some similar establishment. People who traffic in illicit drugs, for example, often have connections in the gun trade, if only to defend themselves from others who want to take over their corner of the market. The one change that I have noticed, in Canada, is the relative ease with which one can obtain handguns today. They used to be very expensive and difficult to come by, so most traffic was in shotguns and modified rifles (e.g., FN C1). Some semi-automatic weapons, purchased legally or illegally, can be converted to fully-automatic, through a contact or using information that is easy to obtain once one knows where to look. The internet has made this much easier.

In the US, it is not illegal to buy a fully automatic firearm, merely very expensive and paperwork intensive. If the firearm is full-auto and made or imported into the US before 1984, it can be freely sold to non-law enforcement people as long as: 1 - The buyer submits paperwork to the BATFE for criminal background check, fingerprints, and registration of the firearm in his name. 2 - Pays a $200 transfer tax to the BATFE. 3 - Obtains the permission of the local head of law enforcement (county sheriff or city police chief). Legal full-auto firearms are listed in the National Firearms Registry. Illegal full-auto firearms are generally built from kits, from plans freely available, or are legal semi-auto firearms that have been modified to fire full auto. In general, the BATFE has to approve firearms for manufacture and part of that approval process is to see how readily a firearm can be made full-auto. One mentioned standard had centered around the question: "Can the firearm be made to fire in full-auto mode by a person equipped with common tools in 8 hours?" Common tools means what you can buy at the hardware store, like drill presses, and not the metal-machining lathes that are specialty items.

The same way they buy cocaine and heroine and PCP and acid and marijuana and crack and opium on and on and on.

1. illegaly 2. if they are in the military 3. have automatic rifle permit

As Canned ham put it. A semi auto weapon can be converted into a fully auto weapon quite easily however buying an automatic weapon is a lengthy process.

they are usually smuggled into the country, and gradually filter out to those who want them, for whatever purpose.

It is only legal to buy atuomatic firearms by special license sold by the ATF... illegally speaking a foolish person could try the black market ot mobs...

Its legal in Texas to own and buy automatic guns. Like in gun shows. One of the few places in the U.S. where people should own guns. Anywhere else is point less, unless your asking for trouble. I actually hunt with guns?

They are, at some times and some jurisdictions, legal with the proper permits.

They aren't illegal, they are for sale openly and unrepentantly. There are of course a few requirements to do it in a legal way, that is where the confusion begins. Just as it is illegal to buy any firearm without going through the instant (Brady) check, class 3 weapons have their own procedures, none of which should prevent ME or YOU from getting one. Full auto, silencer, short barrel and black paint baby! See you at the range.

Ok, as a gunsmith with 20 years experience I'll try to explain this simply.. there are no easy ways to "Convert" a semi automatic firearm into a fully automatic one. Period. The fully automatic surplus firearms sold to civilians have pieces cut out of the receivers with a machine. To reverse this you would essentially need to manufacture a new receiver, which can be done but if you could do that, you could build a gun from scratch anyway. semi automatic weapons that are manufactured and sold to civilians are manufactured that way and have never been fully automatic and cannot be made so. On the other hand, It is possible to damage certain semi automatic weapons so that they fire rapidly(and usually uncontrollably), but doing so is far more dangerous to you than anyone you may shoot at because all of these "Conversions" eventually result in the ultimate destruction of the weapon with usually catastrophic consequences. The only way to obtain real fully automatic weapons are, to manufacture them, buy them from a criminal, or to purchase them legally by doing your ATF paperwork. Anything else is called "AN URBAN LEGEND"

As with all misconceptions regarding being free in the US. You are free as long as you have enough money to buy that freedom. For example, you are free to own any type of vehicle as long as you pay a registration fee, license plate fee, sales tax and insurance. Your free to own your own home if you pay all those taxes to the government to live in it. You free to get married as long as you bu a marriage license and pay a fee. So, the government deceives us in believing we are free as long as you abide by their terms and pay those set established fees, then you are free to do exactly what they want you to do.

they're legal as long as you acquire them in the proper legal terms and acquire the proper permits.

First of all there needs to be a distinction made about the difference between automatic and semi-automatic, because I'm pretty sure many of the people answering this question have no idea what that is. Automatic weapons will continue to fire as long as the trigger is depressed and ammunition is being fed into the chamber. This type of weapon is heavily regulated by the NFA, yet legal. One must fill out the appropriate paperwork, fork over a hefty chunk of cash, and pay a $200 tax stamp to own one (as CannedHam said) A semi-automatic weapon fires ONE round per trigger pull and the trigger must be released before another round can be fired. In most states, you can buy this type of gun if you are 18 or 21 and not deemed mentally deficient. To answer your question directly, people obtain automatic weapons through the legal NFA processes (it is important to note that only ONE NFA firearm has ever been used in a murder, and that was by a police officer) or they obtain them through the black market (like the mexican drug cartels, gangs, and such do). Banning guns will not do a thing to keep guns out of this aforementioned blackmarket, only the hands of citizens who already jump through the legal hurdles to own guns legally.

Well, it use to be: Must apply to BATFE (Feds), State / Local Govt. Fill out MANY,MANY forms, be fingerprinted and photographed for all three and PAY ALL FEES (Hundreds of $$$). You must prove you have a SAFE place to store them, $500 to $1000+. UNDERGO EXTENSIVE BACKGROUND CHECK!!! FBI, DHS etc. More $$$. Then you wait ... up to 60 days, just for Feds. IF ALL above decide to grant you a license you then pay the Feds a $200.00 fee for a Special Occupational Tax Stamp (SOT). As far as I can recall, there has NEVER been a crime reported with one of these LEGALLY registered 'Class III' weapons since the National Firearms Act Law was enacted in 1934.

Illegally maybe.

one loophole was /is to buy a certified deactivated weapon and have it virtually reversed -all very professional of course

like everyone says the crimminals do not bother to be legal so we the honest have to be regulated with a tax.