I spent big money on a set of Pathfinder AT (supposedly rebranded Hankooks) two years ago. I've got probably 25k miles on them and they're spanked. No punctures though, which is nice.
I spent a lot of time finding something decent for our feed truck. It's about as heavy as they come, Dodge 2500 diesel 4x4, with a Bessler bale bed on the back. First set of Nittos didn't last a year. Second set of Hercules (which the local tire shop really talked up, and they were expensive) wore really quick and had a ton of punctures. These had a road hazard warranty but it was only good down to 1/2 tread. Those lasted a year.
I bought a set of Linglong Crosswind ATs for it last year, they've been the cheapest and the best yet. Been on over a year now, not a single puncture, and they still have half tread left. I've been impressed.
I've tried the used tire route, didn't save much and the hassle of having them swapped around every few months was worth quite a bit.
The limestone gravel we have on the roads here is hell on tires. Really eats up the tread and likes to puncture them.
If you spend a lot of time on pavement BFGs and Michelins are the way to go for long life. Here, it is not worth it to buy the expensive ones.