I have watched what the Rail Gun Shooters do. They sit with their finger on the trigger, watching the flags until a favorable condition occurs, then touch the round off. I think that is “picking” ? If the condition holds, they “run” it. But Erick Cortena has brought this up. What happens when your picking your way through a relay, the wind flags go nuts, and your running out of time ? There is no choice but to finish shooting that I can see.
A serious challenge for a flag reader would be to shoot a match at White Horse Range in West Virginia. On an average day or a good day it is bad enough. On a bad day it is totally beyond logic. Flags all over the range, and none of them seem to go in the same direction. Then they switch! On top of that, on summer afternoons, the mirage is as bad as anywhere. Some skilled shooters seem to have an edge on it. Jeff Godfrey comes to mind. But I guess most go with their last sighters, run um off, and hope for the best. I once watched a shooter who is usually at the front of the pack decide to pick through a relay. Those targets didn’t make the middle of the pack.
Also, in My limited opinion, different shooting disciplines have to approach wind and mirage differently.