Automated ammo sales machine coming to Colorado by the end of July

DENVER (KDVR) — A grocery store in Buena Vista will soon have a new way for customers to buy ammunition.

It’s almost like a vending machine, but a bit more “sophisticated,” according to American Rounds CEO Grant Magers. A 2,000-pound automated retail machine, equipped with double steel walls, ID scanners and facial ID recognition technology, will accept credit card payments in exchange for ammunition.

There are a few machines currently up and running in Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma. Magers told FOX21’s sister station in Denver, FOX31, that Colorado was one of the top three states with the most requests for the machines from both consumers and retailers, and the first machine in the Centennial State will be available for customers to use by the end of July.

The Associated Press reports that the convenience of the ammo retail machines has sparked concern among advocates who worry that selling bullets from retail machines will lead to more gun violence.

However, Magers said the goal was to create a safe and convenient way to purchase ammo, and said the system is just as secure or more secure than other methods of sale.

“We believe it’s going to reduce tragedy and still maintain the integrity of the Second Amendment,” Magers said. “We have to look at the context of how ammunition is sold currently against what we’re doing.”

He claimed that ammo is often available on the shelves of big box retailers, and because of that, it is a high theft item.

“I found an open box, I mean completely open, package of AR-15 rounds just sitting on the shelf, and there’s not a customer service person within eyeshot anywhere. And I was like, ‘I could take this, I could dump it in my pocket, I could walk out, nobody would know’,” he said. “That kind of led to this, ‘Wait a minute, there’s something really unique here that we could improve from a community safety standpoint’.”

Ammunition is also sold online, which Magers said is particularly troubling because it may not require age verification.

“Right now, you can go to any number of ammo retailers online, and I can be a 14-year-old at home with my dad’s credit card and I can have a thousand rounds shipped to the house. There’s no possible way to verify the age requirement,” he said.

For the most part, a person must be 18 or older to buy a shotgun or rifle legally, and 21 to buy a handgun, which is the case for Colorado gun laws . However, the American Rounds ammo retail machines require all buyers to be at least 21.

“We believe 21 across the board is, you know, a better age bracket for personal ammunition,” he said.

The machine makes sure that the buyer’s ID is authentic and takes a 3D face scan to ensure that the ID matches the buyer. If the verification fails, the transaction is canceled.

The machines, Magers said, are positioned toward the front of the store where there are plenty of people around. The company also requires the grocery stores to have security cameras near the machine.

Other safety measures American Rounds is taking include restricted access — store workers will not have keys to access the inside of the machines, only American Rounds staff will have access. Additionally, buyers cannot purchase excessive amounts of ammo from the machines.

“We don’t have a limit on what they can purchase from the machine because there’s not that much in there,” Magers said. “We don’t put thousands upon thousands of rounds in the machine like you’ll see on a retailer shelf, or what you can buy with a keystroke on the internet.”

Another thing Magers said some people have raised concern about is whether ammo should be sold in a grocery store rather than a sporting goods or gun store. He noted that it is “not wildly different” from how it is already being sold.

“Walmart still sells ammo in over 2,000 stores. Walmart sells milk, eggs, baby formula diapers, all the groceries. So we have to really look at things in an accurate context to understand, for people to understand what we’re doing is an improvement in terms of safety,” he said.

Right now, he said the company is focused on making ammo sales “more secure while still being available to legal, responsible gun owners,” particularly in rural areas where there might not be a sporting goods store available.

“There’s this thought that we’re just going to place these in every possible location that exists, and ammo is just going to be everywhere you go,” Magers said, “As the leader of this company, that is not the intention.”

Eventually, Magers estimates that the machines will be available in about 40 states, however, it will take some time as the company does research and speaks to store managers before considering installing a new machine.

As for Colorado, Magers could only confirm the one machine, which will open at the Buena Vista location of LaGree’s Food Stores by the end of the month.

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