The purpose to the buffer is to fill the voids in between the relatively large shot in a turkey load. The buffer helps keep the shot from being deformed by the sudden acceleration, trip down the bore and through the really tight choke. By preventing pellet deformation, the buffer helps the shot stay round, fly straighter and acheive tighter, more consistent patterns.The buffer used is usually some kind of ground up plastic and has a lot of static cling. It sticks to the outside of the plastic hulls throughout the loading process. That is why you see it on the shells in the box. Even if some does leak out, it won't hurt anything (ie. the shells are still OK to shoot). If you want to avoid any leakage, look for factory shells with a sealed crimp.
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Hey Mossy,I only use buffer for Anney Okley type meet shoots. But I have found that corn meal (the corse grainy kind) makes an excelant buffer and is about 1/100th the price of commercial buffer agents. I made up a tray to hold 25 loaded shells that have not been crimped, and with a hole in the center the size of the bolt on my brass cleaning toumbler. I then load the shells and pull them from the loader before the crimp station, set them in the tray and set the tray on the top of the brass toumbler. I use a spoon to fill the hulls fully and even a little mounded up above the mouth of the hull.turn the toumbler on and after several secondt - "voila" you will see that the corn meal has been vibrated all around the shot nice and tightly.It took me several trys and now I know exactly how much to add w/o having to remove any before the final start and finish crimps. For me #6 & 7 shot works very well. It's biodegradeable and available at almost any grocery store.Good luck, joe 
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