I haven't been using mine much these days (the 200-500 is so handy and the VR is so good), but I found that, although the focus travel makes action shots difficult, it also makes it pretty easy to nail focus when you have time. Also that, although the lack of close focus is a nuisance, it gets along well with an extension ring, and a short one makes it ideal for staking out a bird's nest and such.
I probably already posted this at some point, but here's a slide from long ago, taken through a window, with Nikon F, 400/5.6 and a short extension.
