The best way to check what your distributor is doing is to also check the total mechanical advance as well, then subtract that from the total with the vacuum advance to find out how much advance you are getting from each.
This doesn't tell you what the actuation profile is. To properly set up a distributor you need to tailor the rate of advance and the starting points for both the mechanical and vacuum advance. The easiest way is with a distributor machine, but you can do the same thing without taking out the distributor with a dial timing light, a tach, and a hand operated vacuum pump.
Typically, the timing numbers for a normal engine would be around 10-12 initial, 20-24 mechanical (to get 34-38 total) starting at 1500 rpm and finishing at 2500-3000 rpm, and 10-14 vacuum advance (starting at 4-5 inches and ending at 10-12 inches) for around 50 all in. This gets you close on 90% of the combos, and then the fine-tuning starts.