Ay, I'm not saying having automatic weapons is wrong by any means, I'm just curious as to why people would want to pay so much to have one.
Well, a good many of us did not pay so much to have one. My Uzi for example. I have $775 in it...not counting the $200 tax stamp. $175 of that is the cost of converting it from semi-auto to selective fire. If it had been selective fire in the beginning a reasonable price would have been the same as the semi-auto...$600.
From what I see on various for sale boards, I could sell this Uzi for around $3000. OK. $600 for the basic weapon...$2400 for the government's idiotic laws restricting supply.
Consider the various kits available for various automatic weapons. These kits usually run from $200 to $700 from what I see in various ads. Consider the costs of getting them here...buying them, getting the receivers cut to BATF standards, shipping them by sea, and getting them inspected before sale. If it wasn't for the "laws" they could be sold for less because the sellers wouldn't have the costs of getting them cut up and inspection.
That FN Model D BAR that would cost you $20,000 for a transferable example would be around $600.
Thompson submachine guns that go for around $10K? There's at least one warehouse in Russia with NIB Thompsons.
As far as "need" goes... I "need" one .22 rifle for small game, one medium bore rifle for American big game...it could also double for social needs, a large bore rifle for when I get to Africa, a centerfire pistol/revolver for personal defense, a .22 pistol/revolver for plinking and practice, and a shotgun for wingshooting and clays . So six firearms could cover my "needs" handily. So why do I have at least 35 (I haven't sat down and done an actual count lately)? Because I like owning and shooting various firearms. It's what I do instead of collecting stamps, wives, cars or some such.
Need has nothing to do with it whether it's for hunting, plinking, self defense etc. after I obtained a small number of firearms. Want does.
The entire concept of "need" in relation to firearms plays into the anti's hands. It is an anti concept...as in "sporting need."
Don't play their game.