I probably spend toward the lower end. I still buy a fair amount of stuff, but I shop around a lot, particularly online. I'd guess 3/4 of what I've bought has been from Amazon or Ebay. I buy deer hunting stuff in February and turkey in June (Dick's is more prone to clearancing their merchandise than other outdoor retailers). I bought my bow used, and it's fine.
That said, there are times when money spent = quality. I put a lower end Bushnell scope on my muzzleloader, and that was a mistake. After 2 years, I went to the range to site in for the year. Tried to make an adjustment, and the scope wouldn't move left to right (still moved up and down). I assume it wasn't durable enough and the muzzleloader shook it apart internally. Replaced it with a mid-grade Nikon designed for an muzzleloader, and, so far, so good.