"There's no replacement for displacement"
"When all things are equal, bigger bullets tend to work better"
Modern tech shows the there is a replacement for displacement - super chargers and nitrous. So there are exceptions to every rule.
I am fond of "bigger bullets" too but bullet weight or diameter by itself is no more "magic" than the hyper-speed light bullets.
I did a lot of research when I decided to try my hand at hunters pistol silhouette and found two things of importance for me.
1. it is easier for me to hit a target when I have to hold under than if I have to hold over.
2. velocity can overcome weight if the bullet is properly chosen.
I chose the 140 grain JHP over the 158 grain bullet because I could easily adjust the round to hit at 100 yards and hold under at 50 and 75 for solid hits. The hollow point bullet transferred more momentum to the target because it took time to deform before the heat built up enough to destroy it. This was proven to me by the perfect imprint left from the hollow point in the chickens at 25 yards. I made my choices based on what some of the experts in the competition were reporting and the fact that I did not want to have to adjust my sights between banks.
OK, that's fine for silhouette but what about self defense or hunting? As it turned out the round was as good in these areas as it was in silhouette but for different reasons. The 140 grain bullet is the best compromise between velocity and the brute force of the 158 grain bullet. You see the 357 gives up a lot of velocity going from 140 to 158 due to the added weight and length. The weight is obvious but the length hits twice. There is less space left in the case and more drag in the bore. You don't have a lot of extra space for H110 with a 140 grain bullet so the next slower powder loses velocity and with the 158 grain bullet that 16.6 grain maximum charge
(old data please check your manuals) was as close to a compressed load as you want to get with a double base powder. There just is no longer enough powder space to get the job done properly.
As it turns out you can cleanly kill a deer at 50 yards with a 140 grain 357 round. I could have pushed it to 75 but I tend to be conservative when shooting at game. After seeing the effect of the 357 going through the chest of a deer I knew that it was as good for self defense as I could ask for.