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I don't think it's been like that for a while now. The last .org domain that I went for (which was about a week ago) dropped at 3:31 PM EDT (19:31 UTC).
With respect to trying to accomplish a manual reg during a drop, you probably will never see the name listed as available during the drop period, and thus will not have the opportunity to reg it.
If there is a name that you really want, placing a backorder, or multiple backorders, is the best option to pursue.