I have a remington 7600 in 30-06, the carbine w/ the 18.5" barrel. Took my first deer with it in November. Also have a remington 870 Express supermag, 12gauge, that I use to hunt partridge and rabbits.
my state has the most lax gun control laws in the U.S (tied with alaska I think), a very strong hunting culture and lots of gun owners, and very little violent crime (just 5 murders state-wide in '09, none of which involved firearms).
I have guns for hunting, I'm not worried at all about the whole self-defense thing, but if there where a baddie in my house late one night the 870 could serve that purpose.