i think possible/probable both 4.5, therefore would monitor; shoot next year or after. that said, the comment that "you haven't seen another deer like it in 15 years", needs to be taken into consideration, always possible someone else shoots em first

Shoot deer #1

Thanks everyone for the input. As mentioned previously, my judgement may be clouded on deer #2 from the velvet. He just looks too go to be true. Secondly, I also do not expect either of these deer to survive the season. With the hunting pressure around us, they will most likely be shot. I rarely see decent deer from one season to another. Here’s another pic from this morning from #1...

I'd be happy to shoot Buck #1 if I came across it at our place. He's a mature deer, has a nice 10-pt rack and looks like a lot of meat for the family there. Moving in daylight is a bonus, too. Shooter for me.

Deer #2 looks awesome, but let's wait to see it out of velvet.He seems younger than buck #1 for sure. If he's in a neighboring property and the owner has shared the pic with more folks, they'll be coming for it. If he's nocturnal, y'all will have to wait and see if he slips during the rut.

4 1/2 on both and i bet both score with in a few inches of each other. I personally would not shoot either one if i knew they would live. I bet your neighbors are also letting more deer go than you think just having two around that made it to 4 1/2 that are decent bucks. My opinion cross your fingers and hopefully they make it next year.

..shoot em ….

^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^

These two bucks appear to both be mature and IMO are not as far apart on score as OP thinks.
I don't see buck being any more than mid 140s and I think buck #1 is mid to upper 130s and might even break 140.

It's all about preference and for me....which one pops his arse out of the brush first cuz he is gonna get a 150 or 165 grain bullet depending which rifle I have in hand at the time!