It is a felony offense - sentence length will run more than one year in prison, and could run much longer depending on the seriousness and the severity of the attack.
In Oklahoma, assault with a deadly weapon has an average fine of $1000, and an average jail time of 6 months. Probation is an average of 210-240 months.
Yes. It would make it harder to win a conviction, but there is no reason the charge could not be filed, and the case could be won. Even many murder trials go forward without a weapon.
The likelihood of getting probation would depend partly on the state the accused lives in, the extent of injuries to the assaulted person, the degree to which the assaulted person was a willing...