I routinely see bucks carrying their racks well into March. I saw a bachelor group last year, second week of March and the more mature bucks had racks intact. One yearling had none and two yearlings had half racks. I would say to start around the second week of March and go from there. I once saw a huge buck many years ago that still had his rack in early April. There are those that drop early though. It all depends on alot of factors.