Telling someone to not use references when they model or do any art for that matter is like telling someone to play a video game with their eyes closed. Even professional game developers will usually at least sketch out a weapon or prop before they model it so that they can get a general idea of what goes where on the mesh. They may not use it as a direct reference but they will look at it.
That, and this guy is a beginner. Hell, I still use references for my models.
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