When I first started handloading it was a venture I began absolutely by myself, 1989, with a Speer#11. I was a junior in high school. That manual was my only guide. No mentor, no internet forum, no Dad or Grandpa that knew the game, no neighbor or old salt that took me under their wing. In fact, the closest local gun store was employing crusty old jerks that would sneer at folks my age in their store. They offered no help but at least they were aloof about it.

After years of doing this, it has occurred to me that so many of the little speed bumps that I came across in my journey were typical wrinkles that most newer, novice handloaders run in to.

One of those bumps has been the extremely common "high primer" situation. As a brand new loader, you might very see these explosive little buttons as BOMBS that should be handled as if they are going to explode on you. Because of that, it takes a whole lot of blind faith to want to really push that little sucker deeply in to a primer pocket for fear that you might make a very loud -POP- and flash right there at your bench.

And when you haven't seated one all the way, you will find out later... with misfires, fails to fire, and as much as anything, a revolver getting tied up as the cylinder refuses to advance because a high primer is dragging or fully stopping the movement of the cylinder. In particular, this is a royal pain in a Ruger Blackhawk single action because the design is such that the revolver lets you load a bad round, then it lets you advance it, and only then does it protest and you can't twirl the cylinder back and remove it, you end up needing to pull the pin and remove the cylinder and get the offending round out.

It makes no good sense to use primers that are dimensionally taller than specified for the task. If you were stuck on a deserted island with ONLY these components, then it makes sense. If you like to experiment and results are to your satisfaction (see: schutzen-jager) then common wisdom doesn't need to change what you have had success with.

But if you are handing out sage advice on a handloading discussion forum and you are telling the general populace to use large rifle primers in random pistol and revolver loads, you are clearly in the wrong. You can't change that with your success in doing it. You are giving bad advice and for any poster that has read and replied, there could be a hundred others that have simply read the posts in earnest, hoping to gain advice also.