Austin: That is the same kind of results we got way back when.... What Lefever are you shooting and what are the chokes ? I wonder what adding some of that fluffy "buffer" might do to performance ?

I thought Jersey had dropped buckshot in favor of slugs. ??????

The Lefever is a G grade with 32" barrels that I purchased from a member a few years ago choked .036 and .038 and weighing 8 pds. 2 oz. It was intended for Squirrels and Mad Jack, but I've gotten the itch to hunt deer again so, not knowing the psi of factory buckshot, I began experimenting handloads. I do put some buffer material in my loads just in case it may improve the grouping. Slugs or Buckshot are both legal here but you need a scoped, or iron sighted, shotgun to use slugs. I tried them once in a pump gun and my shoulder will never forget the recoil.

Buckshot was all we could use when I was a kid growing up in NE Bergen County. That was back in the late 50's and up to mid 60's when I left for college. When did they change ?

when i hunted deer in jersey in the 50s/ 60s we used 000 buckshot. Way more
tighter groups and 1 more pellet. 2 pellets per layer 5 layers in 2 3/4 in shell

I assume shotcups were not used for buckshot back then. Do you know? Some of the 1980's Remington factory loads that I have taken apart did not have them. Actually, the only buckshot loads that I have seen having a shotcup were the aforementioned Federal Tactical loads.

Austin: The loads we shot back then did not have any kind of shot cup or liner. The liner came into play with the first Winchester XX load I believe.

If I were going to use a 2 3/4 inch gun in 12 gauge for deer and I was worried about penetration, I would go with a handload of TSS in number 2 or B fine shot. A one ounce load would give you twice as many pellets as standard buckshot and you could super wad the load up so it never touched the bore. This shot will go through the deer even at long distances.

Lots of info on these loads. Here is one example. One does not need more than an ounce, maybe less due to the number of shot in the load and the penetration. This is just my opinion.

http://www.tungstensupershots.com/viewtopic.php?t=76

Rather amazing results with that TSS however here, in New Jersey, only Buckshot or slugs are allowed for deer hunting. It looks like an awful lot of meat is damaged though with TSS.

There is no need for the loads they are shooting with TSS that destroy a deer and make it useless. One ounce would be more than enough. That is why the smaller TSS is considered buckshot and would be legal. TSS is 56% heavier than lead. So you don't need a traditional buckshot size. Maybe one day the NJ game department will catch up with other states to allow it. We can use whatever size we want, because they call it "shotgun only" counties. No restrictions on shot size. If NJ calls it shotgun only, then they don't define it as "buckshot only." But you may have to worry about larger size shot bridging with TSS in an old gun, and bulge a barrel.