The Colt

"They say this gun can kill anything. It can literally kill anything and everything."

- John Winchester

The Colt was an extremely powerful supernatural revolver created by the hunter Samuel Colt. John Winchester had been searching for it for many years. According to legend, anything shot by this gun, using one of its thirteen original bullets, would die, including supernatural creatures normally immune to any and all weapons. On several occasions, it was in the possession of Sam and Dean Winchester, who used it to kill demons, including their leader, the Prince of Hell Azazel, vampires, including their Alpha, and a phoenix through time travel. It was severely damaged by the Prince of Hell Dagon after three failed attempts to kill her with it. It is unknown if it can be repaired.

Physical Appearance
The gun used in the series is a replica Colt Paterson 1836 cap and ball modified to fire metallic cartridges. On the barrel of the gun is inscribed a Latin quote from Psalm XXIII:4, "non timebo mala", meaning "I will fear no evil."

On the handle is a carving of a pentacle, with much of the finish removed to give it an aged appearance. It originally came with 13 bullets - eight were used before the Winchesters obtained it, and they used the other five. It then no longer worked. However, Bobby Singer and the demon Ruby managed to make more bullets for it.

Powers and Abilities
The Colt was one of the most powerful weapons in all of existence and one of the most powerful weapons the Winchesters ever encountered. It could kill Angels, Demons, Reapers, Alphas, Monsters, Demigods, Hellhounds, Leviathans, and Pagan Gods and also harm Archangels. The Colt can kill absolutely anything, except for Lucifer, Michael, God, The Darkness, and Death. It was later noted that the other two archangels; Gabriel and Raphael could not be killed by the Colt. Making it seven beings immune to the Colt. It is unknown if the cosmic entity The Shadow is immune to the Colt.

Killing

 * Humans - Due to their ordinary mortality, all humans can be killed by the gun, as seen when Eileen Leahy tried to shoot Dagon using the Colt, but Dagon teleports out of the way, leading the bullet to hit and kill Renny Rawlings.
 * Monsters - Monsters are also susceptible to the power of the Colt.
 * Vampires - Vampires can be killed with the Colt, including their alpha.
 * Phoenixes - Dean was able to kill the Phoenix Elias Finch with the Colt.
 * Alphas - Although much stronger than all average vampires, the Alpha Vampire was killed by Sam using the Colt.
 * Angels - It was noted by the Seraph Castiel that the Colt can instantly kill angels, except archangels.
 * Reapers - It was noted that the Colt can kill Reapers.
 * Leviathans - It was noted that the Colt can kill Leviathans.
 * Demons - The Colt proved capable of killing various types of demons, from the most basic to some of the most powerful.
 * Black-Eyed Demons - The creator of the Colt, Samuel Colt, was once attacked by two demons, but instantly killed them both using the gun. Sam and Dean Winchester have used the Colt to kill multiple Black-eyed demons.
 * Crossroads Demons - Like black-eyed demons, crossroads demons could also be killed by the Colt.
 * Princes of Hell - It could kill higher-ranking demons such as Princes of Hell, although it appeared to take longer, as seen with Azazel, who took several more seconds to die than an average demon. On a previous occasion a shot in the leg harmed Azazel to the point he had to leave John Winchester's body who he was possessing at the time. Castiel also tried to use the gun on Dagon, who at the time was empowered by Lucifer, Dagon later destroyed the weapon saying that it was "time to take it off the board", implying that it could've still killed her.
 * White-eyed Demons - It was noted that Lilith can be killed by the Colt.
 * Knights of Hell - It was noted that Knights of Hell can be killed by the Colt.
 * Hellhounds - Dean was able to kill a hellhound with the Colt.
 * Demigods - It was noted that the Colt can kill demigods.
 * Ghosts - Ghosts can be destroyed by the Colt.
 * Deities - As seen with the ancient and powerful monster god Moloch, deities were vulnerable to and could be killed by the Colt.
 * Eve - The original monster and the creator of monsters, Eve can be killed by the Colt.
 * Famine, War, and Pestilence - Three members of the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse can be killed by the Colt, except Death.
 * Nephilims - Nephilims can be killed by the Colt. It is unknown if Jack Kline being the son of the second oldest and most powerful archangel and the Devil himself Lucifer can be killed by the Colt or not.

Harming

 * Archangels - While the Colt could not kill an archangel, it could temporarily harm and knock one unconscious.

Background


"Back in 1835, when Halley's Comet was overhead, the same night those men died at the Alamo, they say Samuel Colt made a gun... a special gun. He made it for a hunter -- a man like us, only on horseback. The story goes he made 13 bullets. This hunter used the gun a half dozen times before he disappeared, the gun along with him. Somehow, Daniel got his hands on it. They say -- they say this gun can kill anything."

- John Winchester tells the legend of the Colt

In 1835, the famous gun maker and hunter Samuel Colt created the legendary gun that would become known as the Colt and thirteen special bullets for it. Legend states that Samuel Colt created the gun for an unknown hunter that used the Colt six times and whom the gun ultimately disappeared with. However, the gun may have been made for Samuel Colt himself or he later retrieved it as Samuel Colt owned the Colt in 1861.

Over the following years, the Colt became considered by many to be a legend. Samuel Campbell knew of it but thought it to be a bedtime story, and one that he would tell his daughter Mary. Even John Winchester initially believed the Colt to be a mere legend. Variations of the legend existed about what the Colt could kill; the most commonly known version said that the Colt could kill anything, while the version told by Samuel Campbell contained the truth: the Colt could kill all but five beings in existence.

By 2005, the Colt ended up in the hands of hunter Daniel Elkins who possibly had it passed down to him by his ancestor Mr. Elkins who lived in Sunrise, Wyoming in 1861 when Dean Winchester used the Colt to kill a phoenix and dropped it before returning to his own time. John Winchester is implied to have suspected Elkins of having the gun, having been searching for it in his efforts to kill the Prince of Hell Azazel in revenge for murdering his wife in 1983.

Season 1
In Dead Man's Blood, Daniel Elkins, the current owner of the gun was killed by Luther's nest, who stole the Colt which Elkins attempted to use to defend himself without luck. From a letter sent by Elkins, John Winchester learns that Elkins had the Colt all along and teams up with his sons Sam and Dean to retrieve it. John eventually explains the legend of the Colt to them and his hope that it could be used to kill Azazel, the demon who had murdered their mother. A battle ensues between the Winchesters and the vampires over the Colt. At the end of the battle, John kills Luther with a headshot from the Colt, causing the surviving two vampires to flee.

In Salvation, the Winchesters and the demons fight for control over the Colt while the Winchesters attempted to use it to kill Azazel. Meg begins murdering the Winchesters' friends in an attempt to force them to hand over the gun, but John tries to hand over a fake and gets captured. An attempt to kill Azazel in Rosie Holt's nursery fails and results in the Winchesters wasting a bullet, though they manage to save the Holt family.

In Devil's Trap, Meg tracks the Winchesters to the house of Bobby Singer in an attempt to retrieve the Colt but is trapped and exorcised. From the dying Meg Masters, the Winchesters learn the location of their father and launch a rescue mission. Though Sam wants Dean to leave the Colt behind, he takes it in secret and uses it to kill the demon Tom to save Sam.

Later, during the Standoff at the Cabin, Azazel, possessing John, tries to trick Sam and Dean into handing over the gun, but Dean sees through the trick. During the confrontation that follows, Sam manages to break free and shoot John and Azazel in the leg with the Colt. Though John orders Sam to shoot him in the heart to kill both John and Azazel, Sam hesitates too long and Azazel flees before Sam can fire, leaving the Winchesters all injured, Azazel gone and only one bullet left in the Colt.

Season 2
At the beginning of In My Time of Dying, Sam uses the Colt to threaten the Trucker demon after the Wrecking of the Impala. Though initially amused, the threat causes the demon to flee his vessel. Later, John Winchester summons Azazel, but offers him the Colt and the last bullet in exchange for saving Dean. Azazel agrees to the deal after John sells his soul as well. Once John has seen that his sons are safe, he turns the gun over to Azazel and completes the deal.

In All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2, Azazel turns the Colt over to Jake Talley as the key to opening the Devil's Gate. After Azazel reveals that the Colt is the only weapon that can shoot him dead, Jake tries to kill Azazel with it but is tempted by the offer of power Azazel gives him. That night, Jake uses the Colt to open the Devil's Gate despite the intervention of the Winchesters, Bobby Singer and Ellen Harvelle and releases hundreds of demons upon the world.

After retrieving the Colt, Dean realizes it's still loaded and could be used to kill Azazel. In the following battle, Azazel quickly disarmed Dean with telekinesis, flinging him against a tombstone and taunting him before preparing to kill Dean with the Colt. Before Azazel could fire, the ghost of John Winchester emerged from the Devil's Gate and pulled Azazel from his vessel, distracting him long enough for Dean to retrieve the Colt from the vessel's hand. When Azazel returned to his vessel, Dean shot the Prince of Hell in the heart with the Colt, killing him. Afterward, Dean tossed the empty Colt into the Impala's trunk.

Season 3
In Bad Day at Black Rock, the Winchesters and Bobby Singer attempt to get the Colt working again without success. Bobby continued his work alone in Sin City and was approached by Ruby while he tested the gun, shooting her to no effect. Ruby helped Bobby create new bullets for the gun, which Sam used to kill the demons Casey and Father Gil.

In Bedtime Stories, Sam summoned Dean's Crossroad Demon in an attempt to use the Colt to force her to break Dean's deal. However, the demon revealed that she didn't hold Dean's deal and killing her wouldn't change anything. Despite this, Sam killed her with a headshot from the Colt. Dean discovered Sam's actions in Red Sky at Morning when he noticed a bullet was missing from the Colt and confronted Sam about it.

In Fresh Blood, after Gordon Walker was transformed into a vampire, Dean decided to arm himself with the Colt instead of a machete. While hunting Gordon, Dean was forced to use the legendary gun to kill Gordon's Victim, a young woman Gordon turned into a vampire to lure the Winchesters into a trap. Dean then attempted to kill Gordon with the Colt, but was quickly disarmed before he could shoot.

In Malleus Maleficarum, Dean attempted to kill Ruby with the Colt when suddenly appears in the road in front of the Impala. However, Sam deflected the shot so the Colt simply fired into thin air. Later, after Dean was hexed, Sam took the Colt to confront the Book Club in order to force the demon hexing Dean to stop. After determining that Tammi Fenton was possessed by the demon, Sam shot at her with the Colt, but the demon, Astaroth, telekinetically stopped the bullet in mid-air.

In Dream A Little Dream Of Me, while the Winchesters were Dream Walking to deal with Jeremy Frost, Bela Talbot stole the Colt from their safe, prompting a hunt for her. In Jus In Bello, the Winchesters apparently catch up to Bela who in reality lured them into a trap with the FBI so that she could escape with the Colt. During the Sheriff's Station Siege, Ruby was angered to learn that the Colt was missing and suggested that they would instead have to use a spell to kill the attacking demons.

In Time Is On My Side, Dean finally catches up with Bela with the help of Rufus Turner, but she claimed to have already sold the Colt. At the end of the episode, as Bela's deal came due, she revealed she bartered the Colt to Lilith in an attempt to break her deal, but Lilith demanded the deaths of the Winchesters as well.

Season 4
During In The Beginning, after being sent back in time to 1973, Dean learned that the Prince of Hell Azazel was making deals with people. Dean tells Samuel Campbell that he intended to use the Colt to kill Azazel in 1973, causing Samuel to show disbelief in the legendary gun's existence and tell Dean that it was just a bedtime story he would tell to his daughter. Despite this, Dean tracked the Colt down at Daniel Elkins' place and convinced him to part with the gun.

While at Liddy Walsh's home, Dean tried and failed to kill Azazel with the Colt. Dean later struggled to reach it while Azazel was possessing Samuel, as did Deanna Campbell, both with no success. As Mary made the deal with Azazel, Dean arrived and took aim with the Colt, but Azazel vacated Samuel's body before Dean could fire.

Season 5
At the end of Sympathy for the Devil, Sam suggested that he and Dean should look for the Colt as a possible way of killing Lucifer. In the alternate future of The End, the future Dean located the Colt and lead a mission with it to kill Lucifer. However, the future Dean was killed by Lucifer and the mission failed.

At the end of The Real Ghostbusters, Becky Rosen revealed that in the book version of Time Is On My Side, Bela Talbot gave the Colt to a demon named Crowley instead of to Lilith, as Bela had claimed. In Abandon All Hope..., Sam and Dean attempted to steal the Colt from Crowley, who used the gun to kill two of his own demons and revealed that he wanted the Winchesters to use it to kill Lucifer.

In Carthage, Missouri, when confronted by Meg and several hellhounds, Dean used the gun to threaten the demon before ultimately shooting a hellhound with the Colt, killing it. After the sacrifices of Ellen and Jo Harvelle took care of the hellhound pack, Sam and Dean made their move on Lucifer. While Sam distracted Lucifer, Dean shot the archangel through the head with the Colt at point-blank range, apparently killing him. However, Lucifer rose again and revealed that he was one of only five beings in all of Creation that the Colt couldn't kill. He knocked Dean unconscious against a tree and the Colt was last seen dropped next to Dean before he and Sam were rescued by Castiel.

Season 6
In Frontierland, while looking for information on how to kill Eve, Dean discovered from Samuel Colt's Journal that he killed a phoenix in Sunrise, Wyoming in 1861. With phoenix ash being Eve's only weakness, the Winchesters had Castiel send them back in time to 1861 to retrieve the ashes after Samuel Colt killed the phoenix.

In 1861, Sam tracked down Samuel Colt shortly after he used the Colt to kill two demons. Though Samuel Colt refused to help fight the phoenix, Sam managed to convince him to lend the Colt to Sam, who then gave it to Dean. Dean wielded the Colt during his duel with the phoenix Elias Finch, killing Finch with a shot to the heart while Finch's shot missed Dean entirely, and Dean dropped the Colt on the ground and rushed to retrieve the phoenix ash.

Season 12
In a flashback to after the Apocalypse in Stuck in the Middle (With You), Crowley offered the Colt to the Prince of Hell Ramiel while trying to convince Ramiel to become the new King of Hell. Ramiel was shocked to see the Colt and wondered where Crowley got the legendary gun, and Crowley remarked on "things people just leave lying around." Though Ramiel accepted the Colt and the Lance of Michael, he refused the throne of Hell and bestowed it to Crowley.

In the part of the episode taking place in the present, Mary Winchester led a mission to steal the Colt for the British Men of Letters under the guise of dealing with a misbehaving demon. Though Mary succeeded in stealing the Colt, the Winchesters and their allies were unprepared to face a Prince of Hell, leading to Castiel being fatally poisoned by the Lance of Michael. Ramiel relentlessly pursued the Winchesters, angered that they stole from him and offering them their lives if they returned his property to him. The Winchesters managed to kill Ramiel with the Lance of Michael, and Mary handed the Colt over to Arthur Ketch, commenting that her father had told her stories about the gun and how there are only five things it couldn't kill. At the same time, Crowley desperately searched Ramiel's house for the Colt without success.

In The Raid, after learning that the Alpha Vampire was personally leading an attack on the British Men of Letters compound, Sam asked if the British Men of Letters had anything stronger than the AVD. This prompted Mary to have Mick Davies bring out the Colt, the strongest weapon the British Men of Letters possessed. Sam was shocked to see the legendary gun once again, forcing Mary to admit that she stole it from Ramiel. However, the British Men of Letters had no bullets for the gun. Sam provided Mick with Bobby Singer's ritual to create more Colt bullets before leaving to get the AVD.

Moments after creating new bullets, the Alpha Vampire invaded the command room, aided by rogue hunter Pierce Moncrieff. Mick quickly hid the Colt and palmed the new bullets so that the Alpha Vampire didn't see them. When Sam and Mary arrived, Sam quickly grabbed the empty gun and threatened the Alpha Vampire with it. Though impressed that Sam had the Colt, the Alpha Vampire claimed to be one of the five things the gun couldn't kill. Sam saw through the bluff, stating the Alpha Vampire would've already attacked if that was true. Sam used the threat of the Colt to negotiate with the Alpha Vampire to let himself and Mary go in exchange for allowing him to have the British Men of Letters.

Seemingly enraged by Sam's offer, Mick appeared to attack Sam; in reality, Mick slipped one of the bullets to Sam while Mary distracted the Alpha Vampire long enough for Sam to load the gun. After throwing off Mary's attack, the Alpha Vampire called Sam's bluff about the unloaded gun, only for Sam to reveal how he loaded it with Mick and Mary's help. Sam shot the Alpha Vampire through the head with the Colt, killing him.

In The British Invasion, Mick provided the Winchesters with the Colt to face off against Dagon, stating that he would want it back afterward. In the confrontation that followed, Eileen Leahy attempted to kill Dagon with the Colt but missed when Dagon teleported away, causing the shot to kill Renny Rawlings instead. After the Winchesters succeeded in talking Mick down, Eileen left with the Colt and returned it to the Winchesters before she left for Ireland.

In The Memory Remains, Dean brought the Colt with him on a hunt while Arthur Ketch and two of his men searched the Men of Letters bunker, particularly for the Colt. During the hunt, the Colt was stolen from Dean by Pete Garfinkle, who tried to kill Barrett Bishop Jr. with it before Sam killed Pete. At the end of the hunt, Sam used the Colt to kill the pagan god Moloch.

In The Future, the Colt was stolen by Castiel in his and the angels' efforts to kill Dagon and Kelly Kline before her Nephilim child could be born. When Castiel stole the Colt, there were only two bullets in the chamber and he was unable to ask for more. In the angels' skirmish with Dagon, Castiel fired one shot but missed the Prince of Hell. Castiel attempted to shoot Dagon while she was distracted with Hozai, but Kelvin stopped Castiel in favor of going after Kelly, whom they found, but Castiel couldn't bring himself to shoot her. When the Winchesters arrived at Castiel's motel room, Castiel drew out the Colt, fearing that they were Dagon. An annoyed Dean comments on Castiel stealing the Colt and took it back from him.

During the Skirmish at the Heavenly Portal, Dean shot at Dagon with the Colt but missed when she teleported out of the way. Dagon disarmed Dean and took the Colt, deciding to take it "off the board" by heating it up to the point that the barrel glowed red hot and melted off.

In Twigs & Twine & Tasha Banes, Sam examined the badly damaged pieces of the Colt in the Men of Letters bunker and admitted that he didn't know whether he could fix it.

Season 15
In Sam's nightmare in Proverbs 17:3, Dean shot a Lucifer-possessed Sam through the head with the Colt, apparently killing him. However, Lucifer stands and heals the injury, proceeding to mock Dean about them having gone through this once before and then burning Dean to death.

In The Trap, God reveals that Sam has been seeing memories of alternate reality Sams and Deans, including the reality where an alternate Dean shot an alternate Lucifer with the Colt.

In Galaxy Brain, God shows an image of alternate Dean trying to kill alternate Lucifer with the Colt to a Radio Shed clerk on Earth 2.

In Inherit the Earth, the Colt appears in the flashback sequence at the end in the hands of Crowley.

Known Owners and Users

 * Samuel Colt
 * Dean Winchester
 * Daniel Elkins
 * Luther
 * John Winchester
 * Sam Winchester
 * Azazel
 * Jake Talley
 * Bobby Singer
 * Bela Talbot
 * Crowley
 * Ramiel
 * British Men of Letters
 * Mick Davies
 * Eileen Leahy
 * Pete Garfinkle
 * Castiel
 * Alternate Dean

Usage
"They made the bullets special for this Colt. (...) Without 'em, this gun is useless."

- John Winchester The Colt's original thirteen bullets could kill almost anything; there were only five things in all of creation (including Lucifer) that couldn't be killed with the revolver.

The barrel of the gun acted as a key to unlock a Devil's Gate, as shown in the episode All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2.

After using all of the original bullets, Ruby helped Bobby make more bullets for the gun.

The following table denotes the known uses of the Colt, with the original "Samuel Colt" bullets shown in grey:

Appearances

 * Season 1
 * Dead Man's Blood
 * Salvation
 * Devil's Trap
 * Season 2
 * In My Time Of Dying
 * All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2
 * Season 3
 * Bad Day at Black Rock
 * Sin City
 * Fresh Blood
 * Bedtime Stories
 * Malleus Maleficarum
 * Dream A Little Dream Of Me
 * Jus In Bello
 * Season 4
 * In The Beginning
 * Season 5
 * Sympathy for the Devil
 * The End
 * The Real Ghostbusters
 * Abandon All Hope
 * Season 6
 * Frontierland
 * Season 12
 * Stuck in the Middle (With You)
 * The Raid
 * The British Invasion
 * The Memory Remains
 * The Future
 * Twigs & Twine & Tasha Banes
 * Season 15
 * Proverbs 17:3
 * Galaxy Brain
 * Inherit the Earth
 * Supernatural: John Winchester's Journal
 * Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting

Trivia

 * The Colt is similar to a gun in the Hellblazer comics called The Ace of Winchesters, which has the power to kill demons.
 * The props department of the show has a rubber version of the gun to be used in fight scenes for pistol-whipping.
 * The design of the Colt appears to be a stylized Colt Paterson black powder revolver, patented by Samuel Colt in 1836. The Colt Paterson, however, was designed to use musket balls, having been designed and patented prior to the invention of conical-shaped bullets.
 * The Colt has appeared at least once in every season from Season 1 to Season 6.
 * Lucifer mentioned that there were only five things in creation that the Colt couldn't kill, and only he so far has been confirmed to be one of them. In The Raid, the Alpha Vampire claimed to be another of these five beings, but Sam Winchester quickly saw through this lie, as the Alpha Vampire hadn't attacked him yet. The Alpha Vampire's claim was proven to be false when Sam killed him with the Colt.
 * In the non-canon book Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting, Bobby guesses that the other four beings are the other three archangels (Gabriel, Raphael and Michael) and God himself, but says that maybe Lucifer was just lying since "he is Satan after all, can't be trusted to tell you the time". This book takes place between season 6 and season 7.
 * The Winchester brothers learn about the limitation on the Colt's ability to kill in season 5 from Lucifer, Mary Winchester (who heard it from her father), the British Men of Letters, and the Alpha Vampire all knew this fact.
 * Sam and Dean have killed the most creatures on-screen with the Colt, each having killed five monsters with it. Dean used it to kill Elias Finch, Tom, Azazel, Gordon's Victim, and a member of Meg's Hellhound Pack, and Sam used it to kill Dean's Crossroad Demon, Casey, Father Gil, the Alpha Vampire, and Moloch.
 * The fate of the Colt was unknown until Stuck in the Middle (With You), where it was revealed that Crowley gave it to Ramiel between the events of Swan Song and Exile on Main Street. It was in the Winchester's possession after Eileen Leahy missed Dagon with a shot from the gun before Dagon severely damaged it in The Future.
 * The ritual for creating the Colt's new bullets was revealed in The Raid.
 * The Colt had a role in the deaths of two Big Bads, first when Dean used it to kill Azazel, and later when Dean used it to kill a Phoenix, whose ashes he needed to kill Eve.
 * In its return in Season 12, the Colt was used to kill the same type of monster it was first used against on-screen in Season One and again in Season Three: a vampire.
 * In The Future, Dean revealed that he sleeps with the Colt under his pillow.
 * The Colt was used on two Princes of Hell—Azazel and Dagon—and both have dodged bullets from the gun, though Azazel was eventually killed by the gun. Dagon managed to evade three attempts on her life that involved killing her with the Colt, though the Colt was only used to fire at her twice.
 * Asmodeus was the only Prince of Hell who wasn't connected to the Colt in some way. Both Azazel and Ramiel owned it briefly, and it was used to kill Azazel, while the Colt was used three times in an attempt to kill Dagon, who later destroyed the gun.
 * The Winchesters and Castiel missed two chances to kill Dagon with the Colt. The first chance was in The Future, while Dagon was distracted by Hozai and Castiel aimed the gun at her but was stopped by Kelvin in favor of going after Kelly Kline, since they only had one bullet left. The second chance was during the Skirmish at the Heavenly Portal, where Sam shot at Dagon with his regular gun instead of using the Colt, and by the time Dean emerged with the Colt, Dagon was prepared to stop the attempt.
 * John Winchester was the first person to use the Colt on-screen, the first to kill a vampire on-screen, the first to make an on-screen kill with the Colt, and the first to use one of the thirteen original bullets on-screen.
 * When a fan asked Jensen Ackles what four things the Colt couldn't kill besides Lucifer, Ackles said "God, Amara, and the Winchester Brothers."
 * The Colt's very similar to The Equalizer.
 * Both are magical firearms.
 * Both were destroyed by being melted by a powerful demon. The Colt by Dagon and The Equalizer by Lilith.