If it weren’t for target loads, I’d have no loads at all. :-)
Tell you what though, target loads are cheap, readily available, and damn good for what they’re good for.
And defense-wise, they’re not double ought buck, but I sure wouldn’t want my center mass to be on the receiving end of a 12ga target load fired from close range.
Infection and shock.
Absolutely. At muzzle-flash ranges, a 20 gauge will still blow a rat-size hole in some EBT bunny's chest.
Turn those target loads into nearly the equivalent of a slug.