Quote Originally Posted by eyebull View Post
I've a feeling that the prevalence of zamak/mazak in modern replica airpistols is mainly to allay concerns that they could be converted to fire any kind of powder round. I've seen anecdotes on here of converting old webleys to fire .22 rf, and of course there were the TAC pistols...But there is no chance of someone successfully firing a live round from an Umarex - not twice anyway
That it's both cheap but feels reassuringly heavy is probably just a welcome bonus...
I don't mind the bodies of airguns being made from this if they are under no particular mechanical strain, but I do object to fragile alloys being used for things like indexing pawls and Co2 pressure plates. It has its place.

Agreed on the last point, and your earlier points may well apply to things like blank-firers, but I think the main reason Zamak is used is that it can be cast in a mould, dramatically reducing production costs over any kind of machined metal.