A Texas-based startup is looking to diversify the retail ammunition industry by installing vending machines which make purchasing bullets as easy as withdrawing cash from an ATM.

American Rounds installed its first machine inside the Fresh Value grocery store located in Pell City, Alabama, in November 2023, and has since expanded to six additional locations in Oklahoma and Texas. A second Alabama machine was removed from the Tuscaloosa Fresh Value location after local councilmember Kip Tyner voiced safety concerns during a July 2 committee meeting.

American Rounds CEO Grant Magers said the cause for removal was low sales and that the machine was in the process of being relocated. Sales at other locations have remained steady, he said. While no specifics have been ironed out, he said conversations with Fresh Value had made future installations in other Alabama locations likely.

“Fresh Value as a whole has just been phenomenal to work with,” Magers said. “We haven’t locked down the next location yet, but there are intentions from both of us to spread to their other locations.”

When reached by phone, a Fresh Value employee in Pell City said customers may not have been “knocking each other over to get to it,” but the machine had seen a decent amount of use since its installation.

Magers said he felt the term “vending machines” had given most people the wrong impression about the company’s devices. Instead, he refers to the devices as “smart, automated ammunition dispensers.”

“People have this idea about vending machines being the kind that drops a candy bar down at the bottom. That’s obviously not how these operate,” he said.

American Rounds users are required to be at least 21-years-old and must insert a valid form of photo identification. The machine then verifies the I.D. using its AI facial recognitions software. Magers said the process takes less than two minutes.

The company boasts security as one of its core tenants as a means of promoting responsible gun ownership and Magers said he believes these measures provide for safer ammunition transactions than those at most over-the-counter and online retailers.

“What we are about is the 2nd Amendment, law abiding, responsible firearm ownership. We believe our machines actually make these communities safer when you compare how ammunition is sold off the shelf or over the internet. We reduce theft. Everybody is always ID’d, which is not the case at most retailers. So we feel like we are the safest and most secure option,” Magers said.

The company is adamant that it is mindful to follow all local, state and federal guidelines regulating ammunition sales.

Federal law prohibits ammunition from being sold to any person who is ineligible from purchasing a firearm. However, the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act of 1986 removed the requirement that ammunition retailers obtain a license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — that effectively removed any requirement of a seller to verify a persons eligibility. Sellers are also not required to maintain sales records or report high-volume sales to the ATF.

Magers said American rounds only verifies age and identification and does not store or disperse any information. He said there are also no plans to run any type of background checks which would verify eligibility for purchase.

Patrick Camp can be reached at 256-734-2131 ext. 238