[Boonie]

The Federal Firearms License isn’t a license to carry though...It is a “business license” and will be denied unless you can provide proof of a firearms business and location to the BATF...

IOW, unless you are in the business, you can’t have a fully automatic weapon legally...

[allblues]

Not quite true. The most important part of being able to own a full auto weapon is to live in a free state that allows civilian ownership. If allowed,the next step is to fill your bank account, as the manufacture of transferable machine guns was prohibited by the FOPA of ‘86, which resulted in the price of transferable guns going through the roof, i.e. fixed supply and increasing demand.

Next you need to get fingerprinted, get a sign off by a Chief Law Enforcement Officer, write a check for $200 to the Treasury, send it and the proper paperwork to ATF, undergo that liberal sacrament, a background check, and then wait months before you get your tax stamp, which then allows you to pick up the weapon you paid for at the beginning of the process.

[Myrddin]

If you really want a full auto, you'll have to locate something manufactured before 1986. It will be very expensive because the numbers available are scarce compared to the number of people who want them. If you find one, create a "gun trust". It will cost you $100. Go to your class III FFL and fill out the Form 4 and write a $200 check to the ATF along with a copy of your trust and evidence that the firearm will be in the trust. Wait. It may be a very long wait as there are only 6 people processing forms for the entire USA. Of late, the ATF has been sending a follow up message saying that SBR/SBS applications will take about 6 months. Silencer forms will likely exceed 6 months. Machine gun applications are discouraged because they are denying them as a matter of policy (not a matter of law). If they do approve, the tax stamp will be returned to your FFL. You finish filling out the back of the form (similar to Form 4473) and take your purchase home.

I recommend the gun trust route since that allows you to place your new NFA device into a safe and add "trustees" that are permitted physical access to the item. Anyone who is not on the trust and has access to the item risks committing a felony by virtue of the "constructive access" interpretations of the law by ATF. If your Form 4 is in your name only, then you have to submit passport photos, fingerprints and a signature from your chief law enforcement officer (often the local sheriff). Only you will be permitted access to the NFA item that is approved to you personally.