It is personal, and everyone has different budgets. I bought a cheap rifle -- a Remington 700 ADL in .30-06 -- for less than $300 at a grand opening of a Bass Pro Shop. This is in a black synthetic stock. My use for this rifle is as a back-up and as a foul weather rifle. I don't like taking my nice wood stocked rifles out in rain. Maybe they would be OK, maybe they wouldn't. I don't know. I bought a $500 scope to put on this $280 rifle. I didn't want a scope that would let me down on a hunt or that would fog up. This makes perfect sense to me. My "nice wood stocked" rifles are custom rifles that my father made -- one in .30-06 the other in .25-06, both on Springfield actions. They shoot well and fit me very well. I'm 6' 2" tall and their 15 1/2" length of pull fit me much better than the factory standard 13 1/2" length of pull. These are beautiful wood stocks and since my father is dead, they are not replaceable at any price. Naturally I'm reluctant to use them in inclement weather.

Sometimes you need to buy a rifle or shotgun before the next season, and the budget just is not there for the higher quality firearm. That's just the way it is. I understand that. I'm fortunate I've never had to make that kind of purchase, but I understand this perfectly.

I am a big advocate of high quality. The difference in price is typically returned by longer life, and they are a bargain when considering the superior performance they give. Quality waders come to mind. The difference between $40 waders or $80 waders is very significant compared to $190 waders. How many more years of service do the high dollar waders provide? How much better service do the high dollar waders provide over those extra years of service? How much warmer are you in the high dollar waders? Whoe much more flexible during walking into the marsh are the higher dollar waders?