you get an 'a' for effort but if this were a graded paper there would be red notations from the instructor all over the place
this applies to a pistol round being shot. a rifle round would be a different situation
- shoot in the mouth is not a good access to the spine. the brain pan would be a better target
- middle of stomach has a lot of real estate for a bullet to travel through, and lose energy, before it hits the spine
- pertaining to the spine...if by 'soft point cored rounds' presumably you mean hollow points. 'the soft part' must mean the lead however pistol bullets that fragment generally do so in a manner that prevents deeper penetration and the core is soft lead which has a very, very difficult time damaging a bone as sturdy as the spine after losing all its energy. the same applies to the hips. when a bullet expands it loses its ability to penetrate as deeply as it would if it hadnt expanded. if a large bone, such as the spine, is the intended target a FMJ non-expanding round would be ideal. this is the catch-22 for hollow point bullets...if they expand they dont penetrate as deeply but if they dont expand and penetrate deeply, they dont cause as much damage (potentially) as they would had they expanded. it is generally accepted that a better option is for a bullet to expand somewhere in the soft tissue of the center-of-mass than to use a FMJ and hope for a hit on a major bone.
- pertaining to a knife...causing damage to a major bone, such as the spine, is difficult especially for untrained individuals. knives have been known to snap when impacting heavy bone and even the strongest blade wont do anything other than cause a nick when wielded by someone that doesnt poses the strength to properly use it.