American Writers Do Love Their Guns..

1. Ernest Hemingway teaching his son how to shoot.

2. William Burroughs, another firearms fanatic, posing mysteriously with his handgun. This is a man who accidentally murdered his wife in an intoxicated and playful game of 'William tell'.

3. Hunter S. Thompson, probably the most salient firearm-bearing writer, aiming his gun into the abyss.

Here's a relevant post: Hunter S. Thompson's obituary, of sorts, for William Burroughs. Where he glorifies and accredits Burroughs weaponry skills:

http://hstbooks.org/2008/08/19/william-s-burroughs-obituary-by-hunter-s-thompson/

Here is a truly remarkable video of William Burroughs, clearly deteriorated and incapacitated by old age, shooting William Shakespeare: