I just did a distance sum using the post battle analysys maps published in Lundstrom, First Team. Thach's VF-3 traveled 178 sm to sighting Kido Butai, turned North about 12-13 sm to escort the TBD's attacking Kido Butai, and then returned to the Yorktown's projected point option position at a rough distance of 142 sm. That's a total of 333 miles so the combat radius would be about 167 sm. Fletcher, is represented as knowing that his SBD pilots had plenty of fuel on board and so delayed their recovery to launch 10 SBDs on search patrol. Thach arrived back at about 1133 at the start of this launch and didn't land until after 2 damaged returning SBDs had cleared the wires. His 4 F4Fs then had priority given their low fuel state. He landed aboard about 1150. So he was still orbiting for almost 20 minutes after arriving back at the Yorktown. So we are effectively back in the ballpark of the reasonable or practical combat radius of 175 sm quoted by Lundstrom. This number is born out in earlier combat missions during the first 6 months of 1942. Also, Gray orbited Kido Butai for about 40 minutes not the 10 minutes, I previously posted.
By comparison, A6M Zero escorts with drop tanks, flew from Rabaul's land-base to Guadacanal a distance of almost 650 miles, and then after battling marine F4F's, had then to retrace their steps. That's an epic combat radius or 650 sm!!! I imagine there was essentially very little reserve. In practice, flying from a carrier without drops allowed a combat raduius of something closer to 300 sm, I believe.
A land based F4F should have a similarly extended radius of combat. As SR has implied, flying from a carrier, you always gotta leave enough fuel to find your enemy and then find your home plate and then keep enough to await the typical landing cycle. although one thing you always announce when arriving back at the boat is your fuel state. It's a prioritized landing cycle based on fuel state. Of course now, in modern times, there is an airborne tanker hovering about the carrier.