I haven’t measured the times - might be interesting to do. But I think you could validate the assumption with PRS shooters who use the reticle whenever they can to save time on targets. Critical for them but less critical than elk steaks or tag soup.
Dialing elevation and holding for wind is what PRS shooters do. Save for rare exceptions, the only time people that are winning are not dialing elevation is if a stage artificially limits them to using the reticle.
The below is not a guess. It’s from data gathered from tens of thousands of shots from 100-600 meters that start with unknown ranges, by more than a hundred shooters ranging from beginners with three days of training all the way to national level competitors. Dialing elevation and holding wind is almost always faster to hit on realistic 10”-12” targets. The less skilled, the greater the disparity between holding and dialing in timed evaluations. For individuals who are well trained (those who compete regularly and do well) out to around 300 meters holding elevation is generally a bit faster to hit as long as the the wind hold is inside the target. If wind is greater than target width (1’ish mil at 300) than it is faster to hit by dialing elevation and holding wind. The farther the target is, the smaller it is, the more wind drift there is, the more stressed the shooter is, the more out of breath the shooter is, and the less stable the position is- all greatly increase the disparity between dialing elevation/holding wind, and holding both elevation and wind. For instance, for a single distance of 300m, standing to prone to hit a 12” plate with one round. Holding elevation averages nearly four seconds slower to hit than dialing for more than 90% of shooters. The very best shooters average around one second faster holding rather than dialing. Now this is prone on a known range with no wind. Change any on of those, and everyone is faster dialing elevation.
The above is stated with users that have been taught how to optimally use each technique, and who are equally skilled at both. If someone turns a turret like they’re looking at an abacus, well... they’re slow with every technique.
