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The materials are better and there are commercial heat treating services that will let you build a stronger gun than case hardened mild steel.
Most guns are chrome moly, 4140 as said, plus 4150, 4340 and 4350 that I have heard of. The legendary Norinco is variously said to be made of a Oriental equivalent of a 5000 or 8000 series alloy steel,
If stainless, 416R and 17-4 PH.
Aluminum is usually 6061 T6 but Kimber uses a higher alloy.
Phil Lichtman once did an article on the materials he used for prototyping. He said one of the 8000 alloy steels, S7 tool steel, O-1 mild steel, and 1050 carbon steel covered all his gun parts. But he did have them heat treated.
You can have a finished part heat treated or you can get pre-hardened billet and accept the tooling wear. Some manufacturers do in order to avoid the risk of warpage from heat threatment of complex finished parts.
Frank DeHaas had a couple of falling block single shot designs suitable for DIY, you might read his books to see what material he recommended.
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