Hey again, well, if you live in a rural town, go with a light rifle like a .22 or even some kind of a .223 Remington. I like the Ruger Mini-14's (even if you only use the 5 round mags!). A nice compact bolt action rifle would suit you well. Also consider the venerable Winchester 94 in .30-30. Powerfull round in a really tough gun, I like the 16 inch model myself (makes more sense in a truck)
If you live in a suburb type area, go with a shotgun, mainly for self-defense purposes. A Remington Express 870 HD (home defense) are great guns a a low price. Tough polymer stocks, bead sites, 5 round capacity. Also, check into the Mossberg 590 A1. This is a Mil-Spec shotgun that passed harsh tests, it comes in several styles with 20" barrels all the way down to a 14" and possibly lower (NFA rules apply!). The 590's carry a tough finish known as parkerizing which could stand up to the kind of harsh treatment your willing to shell out. I've seen the 870 HD run for $289.99 at the local Big Five sporting good store. The Mossberg runs for $369.99. Good luck!