Yes it will be a better hunting round out of a carbine. It would be effective on Deer, coyotes, and most hogs It is also a very good defensive round

Adam, a carbine is vastly best but if a handgun is all you have then Underwood is your medicine : underwoodammo.com/handgun-ammo?cartridge_uw=672

A carbine would definitely work better than a pistol. The extra length of the barrel will give more velocity/pressure. You could kill most things up to deer sized game with 40 S&W but there's plenty of other calibers that will do the job better. I've seen people take deer with 22lrs before with good shot placement, so 40 S&W can definitely do the job. Hope this helps.

The 200gr Nosler JHP @ 1050fps from a Glock 23!
990fps 435 ft/lbs from a 3.5"bbl.
1100fps 538 ft/lbs from a 4.5"bbl.
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The longer barely of a pcc will for sure get you more velocity/and energy.
Exact increase will be dependent on barrel lenght twist rate etc.
The 40 will kill a deer just fine, not my first choice, but use a 200 grain bonded bullet and get it into the heart/lung area, emphasis on the heart area or you may have to track it a bit. 40 S&W bonded can give you up to 19" penetration with good mushroom effect. It's like a 38-40, formerly a common deer getter within 100 yards out of lever carbines. 45 ACP works just fine too and 9mm, deer aren't that hard to kill with proper shot placement.
I would carry this as a back up piece to deffend against cougars, hogs and in a pinch bears (although 10mm, 357mag, or 44 mag would be better.)