[Alpo]

There are three types of automatic weapons in the US.

Transferable
Pre-86 Dealer Samples
Post-86 Dealer Samples

A "Transferable" gun can be sold to anyone (that can legally by a machine gun). They were all registered prior to May of 1986. Because there are only so many, and no more can be made, and people want them, prices have risen drastically. An MP5, which would have cost around 6 hundred dollars in February of '86 will cost around 20 thousand now.

"Dealer samples" are guns that are not transferable to us regular folk. They can only be transferred to machine gun dealers. Because there is a much smaller base of people they can be sold to, the prices are quite low (compared to transferable).

"Pre-86 Dealer Samples" cost more, because, if the dealer that owns one gives up his license, he can get this papered in his name, so he still owns it. I don't know if it then becomes "transferable", so that he could sell it, or leave it to someone in his will, or whether it would have to be turned in for destruction when he dies.

"Post-86 Dealer Samples" are the cheapest, because no one can own one, privately. If the dealer gives up his license, he must transfer this gun to another dealer. These are, theoretically, guns the dealer has to show to police, in the hope that the local cops will buy some. Most places that I'm aware of that have post-86 guns have them as their rental guns.

So, if this guy is shooting "new" machine guns, then he has access to post-86 dealer samples. Either owns or works in a store that sells machine guns.