My first thought is how much time the old guy wasted in his career drilling center drills that deep, probably weeks of time
Guhring has a good document explaining that it’s best to use a spot drill with an angle slightly larger than the drills included angle. This puts the very tip of the drill in contact of the material first where it will center the axis of rotation well.
I feel that the deep center drill idea comes from manual drilling on a Bridgeport, where the guy pulling the handle starts softly and doesn’t use a lot of pressure to start. Yes the drill will start a bit softer but is it closer to the correct spot?
It’s hard to tell a difference on location, I’ve checked by sweeping the holes, there is not a huge difference. I feel the advantage of a small spot drill is that you get a hole that is closer to the drill size and better finish.