I like .45ACP in autos. I prefer .357 in revolvers. I like 9x19 in pocket autos and .38 special in pocket revolvers. They all have a place in my collection. I have killed deer with the .357, very fine outdoor round. I love the versatility of it and revolvers, able to do small game with the .38 and plinkin' like a .22, yet the power to knock a 300 lb boar on is butt at 50 yards with a good 180 grain load. And, from a rifle, the .357 is a whole nuther story! .357/.38 is still my fav and what I load the most of with my press, but I do like the ol' .45ACP for things like pins, plates, pepper poppers, and such momentum games. In a fight, six of one, half dozen of the other.
As to the .357s rep, it comes from law enforcement and street shootings from the 50s on until the era of the wondernine when departments armed up with 125 grain JHPs from outfits like "Super Vel" in the 60s. These rounds were tough on K frames, but they just simply worked on the street. .45ACP, at the time, was a military round and it nor autos in general were in the holsters of the police. Revolvers were the tools of choice. JHPs developed in .357s and revolvers and really didn't make it to the auto scene for some time. They tended to make autos jam and there weren't that many autos to choose from in the first place back then. Glock hadn't even been thought of.
To understand why the word "magnum" had such a mystique back then, just watch Dirty Harry, "Magnum Force". LOL But, there was truth behind that mystique. The .357 magnum was and is a very good one shot fight stopper, at the top of the list in street shootings and there's LOTS of data for the round to back that up.