this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2024
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You do know that murder is only illegal killing, right?
With machines that require the hoops you jump through that those idiot boxes require, only an idiot would use them to buy ammo for a murder. Also, an idiot for paying that much for ammo.
Me, I only perform legal killings, so I can take out an equity loan and buy the entire machine out! Yay!
Yay?
You're forgetting mass shooters, i.e., the people who don't care if they're identified or if they're getting a good price. Safe to say they're not worried about their credit rating if the plan is to take on a SWAT team in 20 minutes.
Man, I have to break this to you, but if someone wants it fast, ammo from one of these machines is the last place they'd go. You can get ammo faster at a gun store. In and out, five minutes if the place isn't busy.
The only realistic use case for these machines is people out hunting and wanting to only stop in one place on the way home, or as close to camp as possible when on a longer trip.
Guns are harder to get than ammo. Shit, if you shoot regularly, you probably know someone that reloads, and can get a bucket full of ammo at a time, no questions asked.
It's funny though, the idea of someone planning on cooking off a few hundred rounds, obtaining a rifle and magazines, getting all dressed up to go and then, "damn, I forgot to load any of these, better stop at the piggly wiggly and get ammo, or no mass mayhem for me!"
Okay, the mayhem and killing part isn't funny, but the idea that a mass shooter wild use one of these machines is.
Ah, right, I guess that's why other vending machines never caught on. Why spend $2 on a Snickers at work when a quick trip to the grocery store can get you candy for way less?
What you're overlooking this time is vending machines sell convenience, not just single-serving portions. The fact that very few customers really need ammo without leaving the store/mall is indeed why this is a questionable business model and not just a sketchy one.
I'm puzzled, though, by the belief that hunters are more likely to make overpriced, impulse purchases of ammo than mass shooters. I'm even less inclined to buy that than ammo from a vending machine.
hunters and chuds are the two demographics most likely to waste their money on expensive ammo that supposedly kills quicker, usually due to some patented hydrostatic horseshit that doesn’t work (but they paid a former FBI agent to claim it does). there’s little chance this stupid fucking unguarded box supposedly secured by AI will have anything that expensive in it though.
speaking of chuds:
coming in here fucking salivating over the idea of people getting killed with guns (but oops tee hee it’s ok if you pretend it’s a shitty joke every time) was a fucking mistake if you’re presenting as a reasonable gun owner, and it’s painfully obvious this is the schtick you use to start fucking exhausting internet debates with equally fucking exhausting neoliberals. spare me that bullshit.
You have to wonder how much of this is just weird nerds reifying their scifi/video game fantasies. This can't be a valid business strategy.
it’s absolutely the same fash assholes who claim Bioshock as an expression of rather than a scathing parody of their awful fucking objectivist worldview, and have spent decades normalizing doing the exact same shit that got Andrew Ryan’s stupid fucking head caved in with a golf club
You do know you weren't replying to me, right?
That's what I'm saying too, indirectly.
The realistic customer base for these machines is both small and seasonal. The only reason to actively choose them as a source for ammunition is if you're an idiot that can't remember to pack enough ammo for whatever you'll be doing.
The only demographic I can think of that would is hunters that are away from their usual stores. My family, as an example, goes squirrel hunting together sometimes. Not me, I'm not much of a hunter, but I sometimes go along to hang and chill at the camp fire at nights. Nobody has ever run out of ammo, but if they did, and nobody else had any (unlikely), those of us that travel from out of state might just go to the closest place, and get just enough to finish the weekend.
You just don't go shooting without ammo, unless you're specifically going to a range that also sells ammo. Even then, most people bring their own unless the range is fairly cheap on ammo.
Is it possible that some mass shooter would be dumb enough to know how to get the guns, but not the ammo, and use one of these? I guess, humans are pretty fucking dumb on average. But it would only be the really stupid ones. It would be like going to the hobby shop for a model rocket, and not buying motors. Like, the two things are inseparable, they're next to useless without the other.
Why buy/steal a gun and not get the ammo at the same place? If you already had the guns, why didn't you already have ammo? Maybe someone that just inherited the firearms wouldn't have the ammo with it.
These machines are just a weird business plan, like you said.
i don't think that "one crime at a time" applies there. what's stopping a school shooter from just stealing shit from that idiot box
I mean, nothing?
But, again, why would they? It isn't like you can just grab a bunch and run. Have you seen pictures of the machines? They aren't bank vaults, but they're a bit better built than a drink machine.
If would be kinda stupid to plan a mass shooting, gather firearms, and just not get ammo too. But, even if that was the ammo source they chose, why waste the time and effort of robbing the machine and going somewhere else? Just load a magazine and start cooking right there.
The responses I've gotten to this have been fairly refreshing. It's nice to realize that the people of lemmy would be horrible at planning a crime of any kind, much less mass murder. Like, I fully expected the usual "guns bad, you suck" kind of comments, that's just how it goes online sometimes.
But the comments and messages about how these machines would be great for someone planning a crime are just so cute. It is genuinely nice to know that most people don't really think about committing a crime, even as a thought experiment.
But, to answer the kinda question you asked more seriously than "nothing", it would just be a bad choice to be an effective killer.
The people that have successfully murdered large numbers by shooting have been successful because of good planning. Part of that is making sure that your targets don't see you coming, and that nobody else interferes. Stopping at the grocery store and breaking open a machine to steal ammo, while not having a loaded weapon already, that's just bad planning.
There's a few better options if you want to steal ammo, that don't require near as much effort, though I'll be damned if I'm going to share them because someone might actually use that info, and I'm not risking that. Suffice it to say that it is very unusual for ammunition to be locked up entirely everywhere that ammo is kept in large amounts. It's impractical.