Everyone's got an opinion just like everyone's got an ***hole.
1. Plan to buy a dog from a reputable kennel that breeds proven hunting, hunt test or trialling dogs. Don't sweat the puppy price, it's going to be expensive, but not as expensive as buying a cheap puppy from a back yard breeder with health or joint issues.
2. Notwithstanding anything else you might see here, I have been hunting over field trial dogs for years and they are superior in almost every imaginable way,
IF they have had adequate work and if they are handled by someone who knows what they are doing.
However, buying a trial bred dog and thinking that it's going to learn on it's own is akin to giving a sixteen year old kid an Ducati 1200 and thinking that's going to turn out alright. Buying a show dog and thinking it's going to hunt is like buying a plain Honda Civic and thinking you're going to turn it into a 700hp race car - it can be done, but it will be easier and cheaper to buy something built (or in this case bred) for purpose.
3. Think about what is an acceptable standard for your dog's performance. Recognise that a hunting dog is a huge commitment. You have to train and you have to train and then you have to train some more.
4. Go hunt with a few guys, check out some pointy dogs, some spaniels, some retrievers. One of them will catch your eye. If you don't know anyone, check out a few dog clubs. I can guarantee you won't have any trouble getting people to talk about their dogs - it's getting them to shut up that's the trick.
5. Think about what kind of hunting you do in the majority and in the minority - most pointy dogs aren't going to swim a couple of hundred yards to pick up a duck - most retrievers will flush birds, but it is the exceptional one who will always stay within range when Rusty the Rooster is booting it for the next county - some folks will tell you that Springers are the hunting dog equivalent of Border Collies - if you don't know what I mean, talk to someone who has a Border Collie, they will have many amusing stories. (Read point 3 again)
6. Then buy a Lab
(Just kidding... sort of)