There's really not much guesswork involved here, there are some facts.
1. Significant damage to the brainstem (as in putting a bullet through it) will result in a "no-reflex kill". The problem is that the brainstem is a small part of the brain and the brain fills only about half of what we think of as the head.
2. Injuries to other parts of the brain that don't involve the brainstem may actually CAUSE reflexive movement. It's been my experience (small game hunting) that you can often tell that you've made a brain shot by looking for the characteristic reflexive thrashing. I recall reading that Hathcock made a similar observation at one of his kills. Something to the effect that he knew he had hit the man in the brain by the thrashing after the hit.
3. Injuries to the head that don't involve the brain can leave the target essentially unimpaired.
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