Rio Blue Steel High Brass, apparently? 1 1/8oz. 3" #4 Blue Steel vs. 1 1/4oz 3" #3 Federal for reference.
I don't think I've ever had a shell with this much brass on it. Anybody have a theory?

My guess is they've had issues with the plastic hulls splitting in the heavier loads so they just beefed it up a little.

Ha never noticed that

High Brass is a throw back to paper shell days. It was there to cover the powder charge to prevent burn through. I have always read that moderns shells are only high brass for decoration...or marketing as us older boys associate high brass with more powerful loadings.

Some of my loading manuals have listed some magnum loads in low brass hulls. My main Buckshot and sandhill crane loads are in STS hulls. They are plenty Hot "Magnums"

90% of the "Brass" on Hulls is coated steel at this point. AA and STS are true brass. All Remington 3 1/2 hulls are steel are the worst at springing back when reloaded. Most High Brass waterfowl loads are brass coated steel. Mojo makes a magnet on a stick for picking up waterfowl "brass" hulls.

No clue as to why that brass is higher. Marketing gimmick like square stacked pellets I'd suppose

I first ordered Rios a few seasons ago, I was surprised at how high the brass was too.

Ben the magnet sticks to the primer not the shell

Federals are a little shorter to start with. Noticed this past weekend when I picked up several shells

Was on a hunt last Sunday where RIOs would not feed in one gun and would not fire in another gun.

Must have been a "B" gun..........

In some cases this may be true. I've been rolling my own for 30 years and can tell you with certainty that remington High brass hulls are not brass

https://www.ballisticproducts.com/bpi/ar..._in_general.htm

Rios are great when they work but the wad never separates way too much for me. I've shot many a "slug" plus they pellets are no where near round. They also jam in my older A5s because they are about 1/8" longer than your average load when shot.

I have been shooting Rio Bluesteel 20ga loads for the last 2 seasons, one bad shell so far and a little rolling the crimp on the H post fixed it. But yes they like their brass and they reload easily.

Do you reload 3" duck loads?

Yes

I'm curious as to why? I can understand reloading for target shooting, to save money over thousands and thousands of rounds, but can't really see a cost advantage for duck loads as I may go through a case in a season vs. 10 cases of target loads in a year. Can you load a superior load to whats commercially available?

You can tailor the load to your specific gun or situation

Interesting. I guess I've never had a hard time finding factory ammunition that didn't meet my specific needs. Do you mind sharing some of your reloading recipe's?