54 Muzzleloader

I got very lucky this year and drew a 54 muzzy bull tag in the second draw. If anyone has any experience or knowledge on the unit I would appreciate any advise. I live in GA so scouting in advance is not a viable option for me. I have ordered couple of maps and plan on gathering as much intel as I can before I leave. My plan is to arrive a couple days early to familiarize myself with the roads and maybe glass up something to start out after on the opener. I'm sure I will not draw this tag again so I am going to try to make the most of it.
Thanks in advance,
Jason

Congratulations. You are very fortunate. I've never been hunting in that unit so I don't have much to offer but I have a friend who drew the same tag two years ago. He shot a good bull. He said he past on some good ones in the pursuit of a BIG one. Things happened and he never killed a BIG one so he settled for a nice one on the last day he was able to hunt. In just about any other place his nice 6 point would be a great trophy but he was a little disappointed.
I guess do your best to get a BIG one but try not to set yourself up for disappointment. Enjoy the experience.

Used to hunt and live there. Send me a pm and we will chat.

Congratulations on receiving a great tag in the second draw.
However I'm not sure I agree with the way Idaho handles their unclaimed tags.
That hunt was my first and only choice in the first go round and I am a lifetime license holder. It kind of sucks that they don't give the first round first choice guys a chance at it The way Nevada does for instance.
Oh well it is what it is.
I'm sure you are going to have a great humt if you invest enough time and have good equipment. The rut usually kicks in good around 20 September especially if there's been some cold weather.
Good luck to you and congratulations again.

First off, congrats on a very cool tag. Those are very tough to come by these days. I grew up and live in Southern Idaho and have hunted that unit many times for deer and even once for archery elk a few years ago. Very cool unit with quite a few elk if you know where to go. My suggestion would be to try and stick fairly close to the Southern end of the unit. Places like Langford Flat and Fawn Springs always seem to hold a decent amount of elk usually with some nice bulls. I would try to stick close to the Southside of Deadline Ridge, also a good area for elk. Now last year I hunted deer in the Piney Tit area, yes that is the name of it, and I saw more elk than deer. This was early season so it might not be that way when it's your time but it's worth a look I think. In 2 days there I saw roughly 20 bulls and plenty of good sized ones to boot. Anyways, I know a lot of the archery elk hunters will be around Fawn Springs cause that seems to be in my opinion where the best concentration of elk are. It really does depend a lot on how much they get pushed around by the deer and elk archery hunters but even then you should have some great chances at a very solid bull. Good luck and enjoy.

Guys,
I really appreciate the advise and insight. It sounds like it is going to be a great hunt. I can hardly wait for my maps to arrive so I can hit the ground running.
Thanks Again,
Jason