Just because escort fighters may have had the theoretical range, doesn't mean they would. Fighters tend to use a LOT of fuel in a dog fight, and, depending on the plane and armament, usually only carried somewhere between 5 and 20 seconds of ammunition (maximum of about 40 bursts if the pilot was careful, more likely about 20 or less). I'm sure there's a few rare exceptions to that general rule, but they're not all that relevant for the point I'm making.
Therefore it would be suicidal for fighters to fly out to anything like their maximum range, especially if they might need to fight their way back home again.
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If it moves, shoot it, if not push it, if it still doesn't move, use explosives.
Nothing happens in isolation - it's called "the butterfly effect"
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