I have hunted with a few. My buddy breeds them and they are awesome. Tons of personality and drive. They are a bit more hard headed than a lab. The chessies I have seen live with kids and are great around them. They are very gentle and protective around the small ones. I choose a pointing lab because I hunt a lot of upland as well but the chessie well in the field. I have yet to see a bad chessie in the field. I think it mostly due to not being as popular and over bread. I recomend them for sure.