You've gotta look pretty far and wide to find one of American Rounds' Automated Ammo Retail Machines, at least at the moment. Currently the machines are operating in a handful of grocery stores in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas, but American Rounds CEO Grant Magers says the company has received hundreds of orders for the machines since they were first reported in the media last week. 

"Our sales are up 900% since the first story went viral," Magers said. "We have 200 locations waiting on a machine and are getting 20-25 emails per hour."

Magers wouldn't go full Shark Tank with WFAA and reveal the full scope of his sales but mentioned that most of the stores wanting machines aren't big fish chains. 

However, he did mention that a group his company is working with has over 800 stores.

"One of my partners was at one of our stores recently, and there were 15 people at the machine waiting to use it," Magers said. 

Gun control advocates are still melting down over the arrival of the machines, with USA Today columnist Marla Bautista one of the latest to bemoan bullets being purchased at grocery stores. In her latest column, Bautista declared the "idea of vending machines dispensing ammunition in the same stores where we buy diapers and bananas seems unreal, like something out of a dystopian novel."

I guess Bautista has never gone shopping at a Walmart, where you can pick up a box of shotgun shells or 9mm ammunition at the same time you're purchasing Pampers and fresh fruits and veggies. 

As Magers says, there's nothing new about retailers offering ammo for sale. What makes American Rounds' product unique is its automated approach. 

"We're the safest, most secure method of ammunition sales on the market currently," Magers said. "Our ID reader is the same as the TSA's -- it's the highest quality. Any minor can go to the website of a big box sporting goods store and click the box saying they're 21 and order 1,000 rounds to their house." 

Magers calls it the future—smart, automated ammo sales. The origin of the product makes sense. Most of the grocery stores with his machine are in rural areas where a drive to a sporting goods store might take some time. 

The only store with a machine in Texas is in Canyon Lake. 

"Sometimes, the customers of these stores might have to drive an hour outside of town to grab ammo. Those grocery stores came to us with this idea -- they wanted to offer a sporting goods package for hunters in their communities. We realized that -- we're on to something special in providing for them and safely selling ammunition while maintaining the integrity of the Second Amendment." 

Now, from what I've been able to tell, most of the towns that have one of American Rounds' machines also have at least one gun shop within the city limits. Canyon Lake, Texas, for instance, is home to multiple gun shops. But if grocery stores think they can make some extra money selling ammunition as well, more power to them. 

My biggest concern is the impact that these machines might have on small, independent shops like Canyon Lake's Wild Woman Firearms and Texas Sporting Arms. I didn't like it when my local video store was replaced by a Redbox kiosk, and I'd hate to lose my local gun shop to a vending machine in the lobby of my nearest Food Lion. Even if one of American Rounds' machines was located near me, I'd prefer to spend my time and money supporting local businesses.  

I'm also a little troubled about what happens to the data the machines collect and whether it's susceptible to a breach by hackers interested in collecting customer information, but honestly, I have those same fears about every company that has access to my personal information and credit card numbers. 

Unlike anti-gun groups like Brady, however, I don't have an issue with the very existence of these machines, and I love the fact that days after Brady president Kris Brown called on stores to remove the vending machines, Mager says his company has received hundreds of orders. The pearl-clutching from the gun control lobby was probably the best advertising that American Rounds could hope for, and unlike the ammunition in their machines, it didn't cost them a penny.