The Freedom Group has been causing many in weaponry circles to scratch their heads, and it has been the focus of a few conspiracy theories. Some allege that it is a clever gun-grabbing ploy, or that a foreign enemy is quietly undermining the US gun industry. Some claim George Soros is behind it all.

The Freedom Group appears not to be backed by Soros, but by Stephen Feinberg, the chief executive of Cerberus Capital Management. Cerberus is a huge but little-known private investment company that acquired Chrysler in 2007. It's name, "Cerebus," is often the source of uneasy joking in certain financial circles, for this is the name of the three-headed Hound of Hell in Greek mythology that stands at the gates of Hades. But hey, tha's neither here nor there...right?

OK, ATS, have at it...who is buying up US gun manufacturers? Just a group of honest investors out to make a buck, or shadowy players with darker long-term intentions?