Well, even Elmer Keith, who made extra-long shots on game animals, advocated getting as close as possible. And he made long shots on mule deer with .41mag, .44spl, and .44mag handguns. He also said a lot of the times he did, he was wishing he had a rifle.
So, sure, if you can shoot 'em from 50yds or less, go for it. But it helps if you give yourself some leeway (skill and rifle/ammo) to take longer shots. Dick Metcalf and a couple of other guys filmed a show... basically it was a commercial for that newfangled .308 Marlin Express... where Metcalf talked about sighting his rifle in to "shoot the pipe" so that his rifle/ammo's trajectory was always inside the approximately 10" diameter kill zone out as far as that'll work... 310yds or so for that cartridge. That's how I'm thinking too.
IMO, if we're considering that 180gr XTP in the .357mag, weightwise it's somewhere between a .44mag (200-240grs) and a .30-30 (150 and 170grs). Velocity isn't always where it's at so much as weight, ballistic coefficient, and sectional density. I'll have to check the 5th Edition Hornady manual, but IIRC, that 180grainer's loaded to run 1400-1600fps and that's humming for something that heavy in a .357 class cartridge. If a proper shot is made, it's gonna do a lot of damage. In my rifle, it's accurate enough for this job and then some. YMMV.