I wonder how easily these machines are to lift into a stolen UHAUL. Hypothetically one with a hastily installed wire mesh faraday cage.... could probably get a lot of easily resold ammo.
Probably easier to just break a hole in it and steal the ammo that way.
But considering all the different ways people have figured out how to get food and drinks out of vending machines for free, I'm guessing there will be multiple methods and a lot of missing ammo.
I mean, you're probably right. But I sort of rather assumed they'd be built like ATMs. which are totally easier to just steal the entire ATM and get the cash out while driving to the next ATM.
Ammo isn't that expensive lol, if someone is going to rip off a vending machine/atm, the ATM would be, by far the better choice. 9mm is less than 15 cents per round right now. Unless the vending machine was filled with super expensive exotic ammo, you'd get maybe a few thousand dollars. For the risk of heisting a vending machine, that's a pretty shitty payout for the would-be criminal.
Considering ammo is currently sold by sitting openly on shelves, or maybe locked behind a plexiglass shield with the same kind of security lock used to guard shampoo, I don't see how the vending machine is easier to steal from.
Depends where the machine is. If it's in a gun store, probably no easier because someone will shoot you for trying. If it's outside a 7-11 and you do it at 3 am?
If it's in the same locations that ammo is currently sold in, then the machine itself seems no more insecure. I suppose if a current shelf full on ammo is left on the street outside a 7-11, the ammo would also disappear.
I was responding to your idea that the ammo might be less secure depending on where it is located. That's true, but the machine itself isn't any more unsecure than the current way ammo is stored for sale. If the machine is located in the same kinds of places as ammo is currently sold, I don't see an inherent issue.
You know a high vis vest and a lock pick for a circle key is only about a hundred bucks. I'd put money on the fact each vending machine probably has the same key too. Once you pick one you just tighten the pick and now you've got a key to the rest. You can stand right in public and take your time emptying it. People will just assume you belong. To be fair, if you're try to look like a vending machine employee you could even skip the vest. Just bring a trolly and some milk cartons.
If someone is going to rip off a giant vending machine, something like this probably wouldn't be worth it - they'd hit an ATM instead. Ammo is not that expensive and I doubt you could fit enough in a vending machine to make it worth the risk of ripping off a vending machine. It'd be a few thousand dollars in ammo maximum.