We are about 1 year away from our 10 day buff/plains game hunt in the Luangwa valley of Zambia. I’m curious who all has hunted that area. I know there are big Buffalo there, but what is realistic expectation for what size Buffalo to hold out for?

I am going for 14 days in 1 month...hunting with jhonny duplooy sp? who are you going with?....this will be my 1st trip.....bob

Same PH

That's a little like asking the trophy potential for a whitetail in Texas.

The Valley is huge.

Chifunda concession

Yep, I've hunted it. Camp is beautiful, on a bluff over looking the Luangwa River. Other side of the river is a National Park. River is full of crocs and hippos, and I mean FULL! It is a very large concession.

The most excitement and fun we had is walking right into the river and taking a hippo at 30 yards with a double rifle. None of this sniper stuff hiding in the shadows on the bank and trying a head shot from 150 yards. Pure adrenaline. More exciting than buffalo hunting and dearly love hunting cape buffalo.

I took my teen son there and let Johnny take him out for his first Cape buffalo.

Plenty of elephants to chase you around in the vehicle (bitchy cows!), cookson's wildebeest are plentiful, leapard were seen. I baited for lion, but did not get one on bait. It wasn't a priority on that hunt. Saw wild dogs hunting. There are hot springs in one area with a little geothermal activity to see. You can check out locals living in grass huts, growing a little maize and cotton, with a solar charger for their cell phone hanging on the grass hut. One foot in the 18th Century and the other in the 21st. Celluar was the only to get communication to the whole country. Before celluar, locals would steal the telephone wire for snares.

Can't say enough good things about Johnny. Born and raised in Zambia, he runs a great camp and is an excellent PH and good camp manager and camp companion. Our families have become fast friends. I was Johnny's first American client 30 years ago (damn, time flies!). He was kid and I wasn't much older.

If you have Barnes Reloading Manual #1, turn to page 130. You will see a young Hatari and very young and skinny PH named Johnny DuPlooy after doing something stupid like killing my first cape buffalo with a SSK Contender in 9.3 JDJ. Mule Deer and I were just talking about that last weekend.

PM me with other questions as you need. I'm so envious!

I just hunted there in Nov. last fall (2021), in northern Luangwa.

I took two hippo and some PG. I was hunting Lion. Tracked Buffalo for (3) weeks and saw some big ones (mid 40s), but didn’t score. I’ll be going back again some day, but not in Nov. Pretty hot. My hunting partner took a Buff, Roan & Impala.

I bet you roasted in November! July is just about perfect. Even the heat of the day is not godawful.

Went to Zambia first of October on one hunt. Toasty mid day, no doubt about it. 100ºf+. Cooled off at night.

Went another year and it was a cool winter. A week before Laura called and told me to pack a warm coat because it was cold in the morning. I asked "How cold can it be in Zambia in July?" She said, "Our Norwegian clients are complaining!"

It was 38ºf first thing in the morning. Now that wasn't in Luangwa, be still, riding in an open vehicle was chilly. We literally covered up with blankets until the sun warmed us up.

It was about 100-107 degrees. Some days at the low end, and some at the high. We really looked forward to the sun setting each night. I could sleep at night with a fan on me and no covers/blankets. I could not sleep during the day for a catch up nap. Way too hot for that!

A lot of people refuse to believe this, hatari. They go in to town if there's one nearby and buy a coat while over there.

We about froze on the high Maasai Steppe at Tarangeri early mornings in late August only six degrees south of the equator and near Chinoi Zim in mid August.

Take something warm that will compact well into a stuff bag.