It depends on where you stand in the gun community's big party.
If you stand around the SASS shooters, wheelgun enthusiasts, handgun hunters, and nostalgia buffs, the 45 Colt is a mainstay.
If you spend your time around the techno geeks, then you never hear of it among the tupperware with dooflotchie crowd. And, that's okay. It's a big campire and there's room for us all.
The 45 Colt can be loaded down to a basic vermin killer weezer lazily shoving a lead bullet out the barrel roughly the same speed as Bruce Jenner's current sprint speed. On the flip side, it can shove a 300+ grain projectile at deadly velocities that make a sixgun buck and belch fire like something from a cartoon outrunning and outpowering a 44 magnum. For self defense, it offers a number of positives with very few negatives.
Quite a few people carry double and single actions chambered in 45 long colt as a personal defense weapon, including the stubby Taurus 450 which makes one heck of a good concealed weapon.
The case has plenty of room for powder AND gargantuan projectiles. It's easy for noobs to clean and wander through the reloading process. It has less calories. It's low in carbohydrates. It's fat free. It makes you more attractive to the gender of your choice. It works as a talisman against evil. It can help you win the lottery. And, tastes great on a cracker.
The 45 Colt is the best round in the world. Ever.