You left out some important details in your story that may change things. First, Was there only one bullet hole in this deer? Second if there was more than one hole where was it?
Reason i ask is how did these guys find the deer without a blood trail? And if there was only one hole in it where was it, because if it was in a lung, heart , neck or spine, you really had no arguement if it was hit there by them it never would have ran that far and you could have argued that point.
Is there more to the story?