Howdy
It sounds like the spring broke when you tried to bend it? It looked whole but when you tried to bend it the leg broke off. Not at all uncommon. I had one do the same thing to me a bunch of years ago. Did it break like this? The spring at the top of the photo.
Notice how mine broke right across the spring leg, right at the base of the spring. That is very typical. The spring in question is a Colt spring, but it happens the same way with the Uberti springs. That is the weakness of the old leaf type split bolt/trigger spring.
What usually happens is the spring has a minor defect right at the sharp radius between the two legs. Either a tiny nick, or a scratch. Any defect like that becomes what is known as a stress riser. Repeated flexing at the defect causes a micro crack to develop. Eventually, as the spring is flexed over and over, the crack grows and spreads completely across the spring leg. Just before the spring is ready to break off, the crack has spread across the surface of the spring. At this point, the spring has lost all of its 'springyness". You did not do anything wrong, it does not matter if you were fanning the hammer, you simply flexed the spring more times than it could take. It is the exact same process that happens if you bend a paper clip back and forth until it breaks. When you noticed the bolt was no longer popping up, the leg was ready to break off. When you tried to bend it, it broke.
I was shooting a Colt one day when I loaded it I noticed the cylinder was not locking up properly. I diagnosed the problem from experience and put the gun away and finished the match with a Ruger. When I got home, I took off the trigger guard and the spring was already broken.
You can replace the spring with a new one. Perhaps it will last forever, sometimes they do. My spring broke after being shot for about 7 or 8 years. You can also replace it with a spring made of music wire. Wire springs never break. Unfortunately, I have never been happy with wire springs as they are usually not as rigid as a flat leaf type spring. I replaced that Colt spring with a wire spring simply because it was what I had laying around.
The best thing to do is to very carefully round over the metal with a tiny file or stone right at the radius between the springs. This can be difficult because the opening is so tiny. Carefully polishing the edges of the metal will remove any nicks or scratches that act like stress risers, so a micro crack should not develop in the first place.
Looking back, I first experienced this problem with my first single action revolver, a Navy Arms Cap & Ball revolver that I bought as a kid in 1968. I didn't know any better so I took it to a gunsmith and he replaced the spring. I doubt he did anything other than replace it. Over the years I have had it happen a few times with several guns. It does not hurt to have a couple of extras on hand.
The broken bolt is a different story.
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