The El Paso shooting suspect wanted to get Russian-developed ammunition that gun bloggers have raved is the 'most lethal'

Associated Press/John Locher

• A manifesto authorities believe was written by the El Paso shooting suspect mentioned a type of ammunition gun bloggers have long raved about.

• It's unclear whether the gunman actually obtained the Russian-made 8M3 ammunition he wanted, but the manifesto describes how the bullets expand and fragment inside victims.

• A host of weapons blogs and gun forums have discussed the ammunition at length, noting its ability to inflict devastating wounds on targets.

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A manifesto authorities believe was written by the El Paso shooting suspect detailed a specific type of ammunition that some gun bloggers have raved about as "mythical" and among the "most lethal" available.

On Saturday, the gunman opened fire on a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 people with an AK-47-style rifle he legally purchased, police said.

Though it's unclear what ammunition the gunman ended up using, the manifesto mentioned that he wanted to use 8M3 bullets — Russian-developed, hollow-point ammunition with a reputation for expanding and fragmenting on impact, according to The Trace.

In the manifesto, the gunman described the bullet as "unlike pretty much any other," detailing how he believed it likely wouldn't penetrate very deeply, but would break apart inside a victim.

A host of weapons blogs and gun forums have discussed the ammunition at length in recent years, noting its ability to expand and inflict devastating wounds on targets.

Read more: The Dayton shooter modified his gun with a 'pistol brace,' a device that could become the new bump stock of the gun-control debate

Joel Angel Juarez/AFP/Getty Images

The bullets have a "formidable reputation for brutal terminal performance," and are "absolute murder on tissue while being affordable enough to be purchased in quantity," according to a 2017 post from The Firearm Blog.

Prepared Gun Owners hailed the ammunition in a 2017 post titled, "The Most Lethal Steel Case Ammo Ever?" and noted that "an effective cheap survival weapon has an equally affordable survival bullet to go with it."

Much of the hype around the M83 rounds came after the Oklahoma-based SG Ammo became their exclusive seller in the United States through 2017, The Trace reported.

The retailer still has the ammunition listed for sale on its website, charging $24.95 for a 100-round box, or $205.90 for a 1,000-round case. Both quantities were completely sold out as of Wednesday.

• Read more:

• The gun used in the deadly Dayton shooting was advertised by its maker as 'an orchestra of metal and hellfire'

• People across the US are on edge after shootings in El Paso and Dayton, with loud noises in public areas sparking mass panic

• The US is militarizing its schools and day cares because its gun violence rates are comparable to failed countries and war zones

• Authorities are investigating an anti-immigrant manifesto they believe the El Paso shooting suspect may have written

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