Lincoln vs Booth mano a mano

[L Verge]

Am I correct to assume that, had the gun misfired, Lincoln would have had to hear the misfire, turn in his seat to see what was happening, then get up and start to wrestle with Booth? To me, that means that at least 5-6 seconds or longer had to go by.

If Booth already had knife in hand, he would have immediately gone for Lincoln's neck I would think and try to hit one of the major arteries or damage the spinal column. With that pig sticker that he carried, he certainly could have struck at least a very serious blow. If he hit a carotid artery, I would think the President would have bled out before any help could come.