Well I'll be damned. My prime brass avg. is about 155....................
I guess my theory is trending right along.....
That's an interesting theory, I think I'll hip pocket that one going forward. I've also tried measuring case capacity with 91& iso alcohol(under the delusion that clean up would be easier than water), and comparing percentages of case fill to powder weight - but I think i like your rule of thumb better...
With Alpha LRP, 40.9gr RL16 is the highest charge I would ever consider, because it gave me nice little ejector circles - I'd consider 40.7 a working max, because i have emotional attachment to fancy brass...
I weighed out hornady brass at 152-153 grains, 43.6gr iso cap, which i will call "100% capacity". Your norma brass is a similar weight, so i will ASSUME the capacity to be the same until i get mine this weekend to confirm. (other assumption: I weighed all cases with a FGM210M, which I will assume to be consistent and negligible in weight and capacity variance that it causes)
Alpha iso capacity was 41.5 gr, or about 95% of hornady.
Assuming you're shooting a high node with your 42.3 load, and something like 42.8 was your max... My max would be just a smidge over 95% of your max powder weight to capacity. For shits and giggles, what was your max charge in norma brass?
BACK ON TOPIC:
I had a lower node in the 39.9 to 40.1 gr range of RL 16, netting me about 2700 fps (I have a slow running, 21" 8-twist barrel). Last trip, I loaded a few more at 40.1gr and 2.242 CBTO (.020 jump), and it looked like it was double grouping (3 touching, half inch of space to the right, 2 stacked). Initially, I thought I might have shot at the wrong dot...
This time, I loaded three groups at 39.8, 39.9, and 40.0gr, but i reduced the CBTO to 2.166 (COAL of 2.766ish) based on what you guys are seeing from the Prime ammo. I never shot prime, but I'm hoping adding (a significant, .097") jump will be the magic I've heard about, without spiking the pressure too much. If this shorter CBTO doesn't work out, I'll try a Berger style jump test, or re shoot a load latter at this shorter OAL to see if i can get closer to a compressed load. In retrospect, Im not sure running a ladder of 2 of each over the chrono for load development saved me any time/bullets/barrel life...
Because the Berger hybrid 130s were also mentioned - I get consistent .5 to .75 MOA groups from 130 hybrids, 41,0 gr of RL-16 in an Alpha LRP with FGM210s. For me, That produces 2750 fps on the magnetospeed. My max charge is somewhere in the 42.0 gr region, and that is explained by the much shorter bearing surface of the hybrid vs the golden target. The GT is actually closer in length and BBTO to the 140 ELD-M than other 130 class bullets (solids excepted).
Apologies, that went long and a bit sideways... Huzzah for good coffee?