Can you buy full automatic weapons in Virginia?

Answer 1

Yes, Virginia- we have machine guns! Virginia State law does not ban ownership of full autos by private citizens, so long as Federal law is followed. It DOES require that all full autos, short barreled shotguns, etc be registered with the Virginia State Police. There are several Class III dealers here in my home state of Virginia, and several folks that shoot full autos at my range each week. Expensive, though.

Additionally, a lot of it may depend on the politics of your County Sheriff, who gets to have a say in whether or not NFA permits are approved. In some states, an NFA living trust can be established, which circumvents the County Sheriff, but you would need to check your state legislation or contact an attorney in that field to see if that is possible.

The only other ways to go about doing this would be to get an FFL 01 dealer's license, and additional NFA licensing, which would allow you not only to purchase transferrable full auto weapons, but would also permit you to purchase non-transferrable (post-86) dealer samples, which you could rent out for range use, but would not be able to sell or transfer to a private citizen. Additionally, you could obtain a Class III manufacturer's license, although, again, nothing you manufactured would be transferrable to any private citizen.