When it comes to power, 9mm and .45 ACP do not compare. When people say that handguns are poor excuses for what a rifle can do.... I tend to think that the magnums close that gap a good bit.
That being said, in SD configurations, they aren't really any better than 9mm or .45 ACP. You get less capacity to boot.
I sold my 2.25" SP101 back to my SIL. I liked it, but had made that arrangement with him when he left for Iraq. Kid loves that gun. He'll be back from Afghanistan in August (hoping this is his last tour, is his 3rd) and he left the SP101 for my daughter while he's gone. She shoots it fine with .38s. I did some testing and found that with the short barrel, heavier loads, 140 and up, in magnums got more out of the gun. I got 550 ft lbs from a hot 140 Speer load from the gun, a little better than my 9 from my Kel Tec at 410 ft lbs, but boy, you pay for it in muzzle blast. So, for carry, the 9 is my favorite and I don't now own a .357 with less than a 3" barrel.
My 4" gun is a favorite hiking/outdoor gun and, yeah, that gun closes the gap on rifle performance enough that it can reach out 100 yards and put the hurt on something or someone. I carried that gun in a fanny pack down in Big Bend last spring for that reason, a concealable gun (a necessity in a national park) with REACH in case I need it and what with the war in Mexico and all the drug runners along the border armed to the teeth now days, the .357 beats a .38 or a .45 or a 9 for that duty. It's not really a rifle in a fanny pack, but it beat the hell ouf of my .45ACP for that. You might as well be throwing rocks at 100 yards with a .45, more of a mortar in trajectory, not a direct fire weapon at extended ranges. I used to shoot a snubby .38 a lot at a 14" plate at 100 yards. Oh, yes, I could make hits on it from roll over prone position, but the .357 is SO much easier to hit with. Zeroed at 100 yards, my Ruger Blackhawk hits on at 100 with the 180 XTP handloads I load for it. That .38 took some major elevation on the front sight.
I have killed hogs and deer with the .357, too, out of a 6.5" gun and a 3" gun for one hog, though that was a head shot. I don't hunt with .45ACP, not enough juice or penetration. A 180 JHP or a 165 grain Keith style SWC (my fave .357 hunting rounds) will PENETRATE on game and kill quite impressively quick. I've shot hogs in my trap with the .45ACP. It's not as impressive, though it doesn't bounce off.