It is exactly as it says. Uses .357 max case and .357 bullet.

I campaign a Martini Cadet .357 Maximum, 26" barrel, as a hunting and casual shooting rifle. My go-to load for "general" shooting is 15.0gr. Li'l Gun + 200gr. RCBS or Lee (doesn't seem to matter) GC bullet at 10-12bhn for 1700fps. When I want to smack something I switch to 21.0gr. 1680 and the same bullet for 1900+fps. (I've gone up to 23.0gr. 1680 with zero ill effects but deem that much "sturm und drang" to be unnecessary.) Accuracy with the light rifle is very nice in the 1"-1 1/2" area at 50 yards, aperture rear sight, which is the distance I play with it. (The neck of the woods I've stepped into while deer hunting with it is jungle-like in nature and 50 yards is a long-ish shot, so I've felt no need to see what it'll do at 200 yards with a scope.)

In my wanderings I came to the conclusion that 1680 is the optimal powder for the Maxi when stretching its legs. Not an original thought, rather gleaned from other's writings and proven to my satisfaction.

Recoil with the Maxi in this light rifle is surprisingly inconsequential to me, someone for whom heavy recoil is becoming a real bugabear as I get older. I've gotten to be a bit enamored with the cartridge and its family of spinoffs. I gave serious consideration to it in a heavy barrel for the latest (current) High Wall project, but opted for .32RKS (with its brass headstamped .357 Max) instead. 

Frank.I could see that being a great brush gun for up close.......

Skalkaho wrote on Mar 25^th, 2024 at 7:00pm:

Pete, I was very impressed by my 357 Max. The third bullet I chronoed was a H&G 150 gr GC. I got 2291 fps, with 21.5 gr of 820. The 100 yd group was 3.1" and the best accuracy of 3 loads, starting at 20.0 gr.

Before people start saying that these loads are dangerous for a LW, let me say that I got this rifle in about 1990 and it was chambered in 357 Mag, for how many years, I don't know but, I re-chambered it in Max and the only thing that I knew, was what Frank DeHaas wrote about the LW, that they are good for 357 Mag pressures.

Disclaimer:
Me and my LW didn't know that some people consider that the LW is dangerous at most any pressure level and by that, I do not recommend my loads for a LW! I give this info for a stronger rifle like the CPA in this thread.

If I only had one SS rifle and wanted to use it for both hunting and target work, it would be the 357 Max or, as I call it, 38 XL.