Hi guy's, I'm new at this varmint hunting game. I have a 10 year old son (and he is a south paw) that want to go pdog hunting. I'm looking at a N.E.F in 223 with a 6 x 18 Burris scope. I have a small pdog town we can go to, but the short range to shoot is about 130 yards. He can hold his own with hand guns but want to move up to long guns.

Can you guy help?

Back in the 70's when a single shot was all you could get, I had an H&R Topper. This an OLD, OLD NEF single shot]. It was in .22 Hornet. It gave me a "Nickel" size group at 150 yards. No problems with it.

Sounds like a lot of fun so get something for sure.

Those top break guns are ok for shotguns but the triggers are stiff for a rifle. One would get by I suppose. Get something better and you will save the cost of another transaction.

A bolt rifle will be easier to operate for a 10 year old and for anyone from the prone position. Kids like repeaters too.

I would keep looking. On the other hand the .223 is just about ideal for PD's.

bm-3: the NEF is also available in the 204 Ruger, as another option. The often dismal triggers can be corrected by NEF (at no charge), plus some come from the factory quite acceptable (as seen on a 45-70 recently purchased by a fellow shooter).
The barrel addition program is another nice option, increasing its versatility.
The NEF/H&R's, in general, shoot great compared to the old "H&R's", where it was a crap shoot on accuracy.
I tweaked the trigger on my NEF 22Hornet/30-30Win, and it breaks at a nice 3lbs. But working on NEF triggers can be a challenge, primarily in the re-assembly of the trigger group back into the rifle (slave pins, applicable cuss words, etc.).

As you can see, I really like NEF/H&R rifles! The triggers on the latest crop of rifles has improved a lot, most come about 4lbs now with some even lighter, smooth, crisp and creep free. I wouldn't hesitate getting an NEF .223 for the youngin, it's a great rifle and accurate with the win white box 45gr JHP at $13 a box of 40. There are lots of young shooters with this rifle either in the Handi configuration or the Ultra at Graybeardoutdoors.com Come on over and check em out! There are trigger hone instruction there and more at http://www.perkloafm.com/ Trigger jobs can be done in about an hour or less, or you can have H&R do one when you send the rifle in for a second barrel, hint..hint! My own trigger jobs are at 2lbs3oz or so with just a little honing, easy to do with good instructions. Like was already stated, the reassembly is the hard part, but Perklo's instructions will help on that a lot. There are also some helpful hints at Fred's site for reassembly.

You can get the NEF in a youth model for $187, then later on, add a full size butt stock for $36 unless someone at GBO wants to swap you stocks which is done a lot.

NEF/H&R Centerfire forum

I want to thank every one for all the input. I hope to get more to work with.

The big drawback to a break-open action for prairie dogs is that it is very cumbersome to use from prone position, or from a benchrest. If I were you I'd look for a used .222 or .223 bolt rifle.

On the other hand, if the rifle is to be used for other hunting and offhand uses, the shorter overall length of the break-open rifle is easier for young shooters to handle.

Shooting a Handi from the bench is not an issue because they shoot best when the front rest is placed just in front of the trigger guard under the barrel pivot, it can be tipped up real easy from the bench.