Company behind ammo vending machines plans to expand in more states, including California

The company behind vending machines that sell ammunition is making its way out west.

Colorado will see its first ammo vending machine go up this week at a grocery store southwest of Denver.

American Rounds, which is based in Dallas, said it has plans to install more ammo vending machines in other states out West, including California. Details on an exact location and a launch date are unknown.

They company debuted its machines earlier this month at eight stores, including some in Texas, Alabama, and Oklahoma.

The machines use an identification scanner and facial recognition software to verify the purchaser's age and are as "quick and easy" to use as a computer tablet. The company maintains the age-verification technology means that the transactions are as secure, or more secure, than online sales, which may not require the purchaser to submit proof of age, or at retail stores, where there is a risk of shoplifting.

But advocates worry that selling bullets out of vending machines will lead to more shootings in the U.S.

"I think there has been some misconception that we're just going to place these everywhere that a vending machine-style product would go ... That's not the case at all," said American Rounds CEO Grant Magers in an interview with KKCO-TV. "We are not interested in putting them in every location."

"There is a need within the entire industry to look at technology and try to apply it in a way to make the firearms market, the ammunition market, safer for the communities."

Federal law requires a person to be 18 to buy shotgun and rifle ammunition and 21 to buy handgun ammunition. Magers said their machines require a purchaser to be at least 21.

The machine works by requiring a customer to scan their driver's license to validate that they are age 21 or older. The scan also checks that it is a valid license, he said. That is followed by a facial recognition scan to verify "you are who you are saying you are as a consumer," he said.

"At that point you can complete your transaction of your product and you're off and going," he said. "The whole experience takes a minute and a half once you are familiar with the machine."

CNN contributed to this report.