Hunting Gun useful for Defense

My wife is a pacifist and I am to a degree (until I can no longer be.) She’s not onboard with me getting an AR type rifle for defense but suggested “a gun I could hunt with”. I told her an AR can be used for hunting to no avail haha. I’m trying to keep her happy but also keep her safe in these troubling times. Any recommendations on a defensive rifle disguised as a hunting rifle? I’d like to keep it under $600.00 if possible.

Edit to add: I am no beginner with firearms, I grew up hunting big and small game, and training with pistols, rifles, and shotguns from various ranges on all types of targets. I’ve been a ccw holder for years and practice often. I sought answers on Reddit as a brain storm to help me think outside the box. I am well versed in shotguns and have done quite a lot of shotgun shooting (including skeet with a pistol grip, it was a blast haha). I have a few guns, just no strictly defensive geared other than a CCW.