There is a very good thread on this at The Firing Line forum. Even they can’t be sure exactly what is going on but suffice to say that they are for the most part sceptical.
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=344718
This is kind of a “side” question (slightly off-topic):
How are gun prices these days ? Discounted ? List ? Premium over List ?