Good question, but assuming that by “SS” you’re referring to stainless steel, it too is an alloy—as are all steels.
When aluminum first became common as the primary metal in certain pistol frames, it was obviously thought that that would seem cheap and flimsy to the ignorant, so gun magazine article writers evidently decided to call it “alloy” even though that word refers to any mixture of metal and other substances.
I can tell at sight a Chassepot rifle from a javelin.
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