Ameristep Care Taker Kick Out Ground Blind - Setup, Tear Down and Overview

I replaced my old doghouse blind with the Ameristep Care Taker Kick Out ground blind. In this video I go over the setup, teardown and overview of this blind. Turns out to be an easy blind to both setup and tear down.
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[@beach0045]

Used mine for turkeys last year; went to set it up yesterday and forgot to refresh my memory with your video--I paid the price in aggravation. So easy, once you "know how." I missed a gobbler at 15 feet (feet, not yards) last year; pattern was about like a rifle at that range. Try to be more alert this year. Thanks for an excellent video.

[@BooneDownSouth]

Thanks Lowrie! Yea these types of blinds can be extremely frustrating if you don't "know how" to put them up for sure. I shot a gobbler a few years back literally 8 feet from my boot. This old gobbler was coming in to this field every day and I was saving him for my dad. So my dad got into town and I set him up and said don't gobble don't do nothing.. just let me call and he is gonna come right in to this spot. Well didn't happen. The gobbler came around the other direction and walked right in front of me at 8 ft. and knew something was up. I could only get the shotgun stock up to my bicep and had to lean to it to take the shot. My bicep was black and blue for a couple weeks after that! Good luck to you this year!

[@beach0045]

@@BooneDownSouth Great story! What parts of the gobbler were left?!? A decade ago, my son-in-law arranged much the same scenario for me; he'd patterned this gobbler over several days, put me in front of him to wait; the gobbler came on schedule--but came first to him! I waited; I heard a click, but no shot; the gobbler came so close to me that I literally was afraid to blink my eyes. Finally, since the S-I-L wasn't shooting, I threw my gun, just an old A5 with a polychoke and some pheasant loads, to my shoulder, with the gobbler at five feet. By the time I could shoot it was 15 feet away--but that was hardly enough: the head and beard were mostly gone; but the meat was there. I gloated about ten seconds, then turned to my "guide" to see why he hadn't shot--he's not the type to extend charity to the old man! Well: he was shooting a Remington pump; when we loaded at the car, he closed the chamber gently to keep the noise down--and it didn't close fully. So the "click" was the hammer falling--and not hitting the primer. After that, he was helpless; had to watch as I bagged a bird rightfully his. Sun don't shine on the same dog's butt every day; next time we were hunting together, he bagged the bird while my finger was starting to squeeze--a 23 pound hulk he got mounted, and put in his den. My daughter has not forgiven me!

[@BooneDownSouth]

@@beach0045 The head was not! That's a great story too! I just love to turkey hunt. All kinds of good stories from doing that.

[@joepangit6938]

Very nice video Sir! Most of the 4-5 blinds I've owned had pin holes. I now get a $5 small tube of clear silicone calk and smear a bit over the holes from the inside to seal them. It works great. Also I toss the terrible stakes they all seem to come with and pick up a couple packs of 10" tent stakes at Harbor Freight.

[@stevet9051]

Excellent video buddy. Easy to follow and well explained. I just bought this blind because whitetail season opens tomorrow and we're expecting ~ 1 to 2 inches of rain. Picked it up on sale for $129 at Crappy Tire. Great quality for a low price.

[@BooneDownSouth]

Yea definitely helps in the rain for sure! Good luck man. Thanks for the comments.

[@gregashley986]

As mentioned by someone else, ScotchBrite/3M waterproofing spray (a couple coatings) will work wonders for those little pinholes. I too use the large bendable coated wire for hanging my bow. I like to use a large moving blanket from Harbor Freight (low cost) for the flooring. It insulates well and helps deaden any noise made while moving around inside. I rake the inside footprint of the blind, then put the moving blanket down, and go outside and kick everything I raked out, up against the base of the blind to help kind of seal it up. Once it gets cold here, I'll get the smaller moving blankets from HF and use them on the side walls of the blind, by just slipping the edges under the rods of the blind. It makes a huge difference. I enjoyed your video and good luck to you on your future hunts from the blind.

[@BooneDownSouth]

Yea I have used the waterproofing spray on tents in the past, but man that HF blanket idea is awesome. I always rake it out too, but man that blanket is a great idea!

[@amyhurlbut1874]

Thanks fir helping me n my father 💗

[@BooneDownSouth]

Happy to help!

[@ronaldmaranto368]

Works perfectly in one minute,now i will see if it's waterproof in the first rain i hunt,I always hunt my ground blind in the rain,Always see and have shot the biggest bucks on our place in the rain.

[@BooneDownSouth]

I like hunting in the light drizzle, but I have been in the blind in a pouring downpour too. I was archery hunting so I don't think I could have shot anything in the pouring rain but I just stayed there to keep from getting soaked.

[@OvGraphics]

Hey Mr. South! Super thanks for the vid. I basically gave mine away a year ago when the hunting lease folded. Now it's going again and I'm mebbe looking for another blind. 3 years ago I paid about the same price for an Ameristep 3 man blind. Today it's well past $200. So maybe I'm looking to AmeristepDown? That thing was eating you up to start but you manned up and got it popped. I was waiting for the takedown and was stupefied. My old one came down in anywhere from 1 minute to 45 minutes, depending if you found the right rod to push in. Most impressive how the thing just came together for you in the end. Looks like a small tube of silicone is called for...same as my old one. Anyway, thanks for taking the hit. Hope it works foh ya come October or so. Your bestest fan in Alabam, Norm

[@BooneDownSouth]

@OvGraphics - Thank you Norm. Glad you liked the video. I never thought about the silicone. That is a great idea! My buddies blind was like the one you talked about. Could take up to 30 mins to figure out how to tear the stupid thing down. It was very frustrating. Glad this one is a lot easier. Take care. Wish you the best!

[@greghoiem5498]

In most blinds I've seen , those 'white dots' aren't actually pinholes but areas that didn't get the black coating properly applied.. I have 5 different popups, all have the 'light spots' from inside but none are actually holes. I hate the blackout since if you aren't wearing completely black you stand out like a spotlight through the windows..

[@BooneDownSouth]

That's good to know. Yea I don't think I have actually seen rain coming in through this one so that definitely could be what is going on there with the black coating. I pretty much always wear black when I am in the blind and sit toward the back to try to help with that factor.

[@hollisfarmshoney]

You saved me from cussing a lot. Thanks!!

[@BooneDownSouth]

Yea I totally get that! The year before my buddy had a 4 wheeler accident while we were on an out of state hunt and couldn't use his treestand the rest of the week. We had to make a run to Walmart to get a blind for him to use, and I was the one who was doing the setup/takedown for him - and yea I wanted to cuss on that thing. Once you know the trick its not so bad, but if ya don't... yea...

[@jandblawncare8570]

Great video. I had a Ameristep a few years ago but it grew legs one night along with my Rivers Edge tree stand and replaced the blind with this one. I had a handful of pinholes in the other one but even in pouring down rain I never got wet, these people who freak out about pin holes crack me up. I think I had the 3 person and one thing I liked about that was the windows had these "T" bars I guess you'd call them and they went through a loop to open and close the windows and had the loops every 4 inches or so up the windows so you could put the window different heights. I haven't even taken this new one out of the box yet but my last Ameristep worked well and I hope it's serving its new owners well (scumbag thieves)

[@BooneDownSouth]

Oh man that is a bummer it got stolen. Those Rivers Edge tree stands are nice as well. This blind is still doing good. Two of my daughters took a buck each hunting out of it this past season.

[@sonjaorleans8850]

I.hate pin holes

[@sierrasix5479]

Thanks for this video!!

[@BooneDownSouth]

No problem. Glad you liked it.

[@galenburns69]

Thanks for sharing video helped

[@BooneDownSouth]

Glad it helped!

[@ino4089]

I bought in ameristep 2 years ago and it had a flap door with hooks. That was an awesome blind. I bought the caretaker this year and it goes up easy. But when it's setup and you unzip it or is it back up you might just as well scream out loud I'm here. Yes Believe It or Not zipping the blind open or shut is it really that loud

[@BooneDownSouth]

Steve you are right about the zipper.. It is loud. I haven't really come across a zipper blind door that wasn't though due to the amount of tension on the door when being zipped. I usually set the blind up with it partially unzipped and then have some brush near by that I pull over it if I am getting in late. It would be much better if it was a flap with hooks like you mentioned though for sure!

[@sailure1]

Outstanding brother... now do it in the dark with just a Streamlight Sidewinder on red light for a light source...LOL I will buy one of these based on your video.

[@BooneDownSouth]

sailure1 - Thank you man. You are correct though everything is different in the dark! Except for turkey hunting, most of the time I am setting the blind well in advance of when I will be using it so I don't have to do it in the dark too much.

[@captainjoesanglingadventur4894]

Looks like a good candidate for a can of Phil Swifts Flex Seal. Spray the inside effort the holes then waterproof the outside

[@BooneDownSouth]

Yea if it gets bad I would definitely water proof it but honestly it just hasn't been an issue.

[@robwebber9267]

I just bought one from Walmart and used it this past weekend, it rained hard all day. All the stitching leaked and the center of the roof. What is the best way to stop this issue. Even though it leaked i was still impressed by the product.

[@BooneDownSouth]

You could apply something like this to help with those leaks: amzn.to/48RRdaZ

[@ronaldmaranto368]

great blind

[@bobadams1696]

Good video.

[@BooneDownSouth]

Thank you Bob!

[@davidpate2237]

Great job on the video

[@BooneDownSouth]

Thanks David!

[@HangImHigh]

Great job buddy! Looks like it may work .

[@BooneDownSouth]

Thank you. This will definitely be great for turkey season too!

[@christopherwood2290]

I love to hunt upland game birds, waterfowl, rabbits, squirrels. When I deer hunt I usually find a good place to take a nap. Lol!

[@BooneDownSouth]

Yep I have been there before! But I do love to deer hunt.

[@kennystrange8705]

They are awesome!! I’ve hunted out of it first year got one to come 25 yards… put him on the ground!!!!

[@BooneDownSouth]

Awesome! Had some deer 15 yards in front of mine a few weeks ago, then about a week ago my youngest daughter shot a 7 pt from the blind while hunting with my dad. Works great!

[@Kriegshetzer1214]

Is the cat extra charge? Asking for a friend.

[@BooneDownSouth]

@Brady Wilson - Ha that cat will find me wherever I am. Two years ago, I was sitting in a low seat natural ground blind waiting on this particular buck, and the next thing ya know that cat showed up out of nowhere and jumps up in my lap and won't stop rubbing her head all over me. 30 mins left of daylight and I am expecting a buck to come within 25- 30 yards from me and this cat is right here and I can't really do anything about it. Crazy man!

[@davidpate2237]

Thinking about getting one for deer hunting turkey hunting with a bow how to work out for you

[@BooneDownSouth]

I actually bought this with the main reason to use with my bow. So yea it fits well with a bow.

[@petuniaromania6294]

How will you seal up the pin holes or make sure it's waterproof? Thanks.

[@BooneDownSouth]

I haven't done anything to it. Just been using it as is. I haven't noticed any water coming in through those holes. I suppose in a downpour it would but I typically am not hunting in a downpour. In a light rain I haven't noticed anything dripping. I would think some type of tent water sealant might help but it really hasn't been an issue for me so I haven't bothered with it.

[@MrDavidevans85]

Maybe you can use some flex seal tape, or even a spray on version, that should seal it up nice.

[@mikepowell9774]

Great video! Tent Kung fu.

[@BooneDownSouth]

That’s funny dude!

[@richardburton5311]

Ameristep and all companies under the GSM umbrella have the poorest customer service that I have ever encountered!

[@BooneDownSouth]

Man I didn't realize GSM owned so many brands!

[@zzz7zzz9]

why on earth would they have the main windows zip UP? that way, they just want to hang into the blind. sure, they can be rolled up and tied off, i'm sure. but if they made them so they zip 'down' instead, then they naturally fall to the outside, out of the way. i only use my blind for late-season deer hunting, in the cold and snow. i use it as a shelter for the bad days, and sit in it with my heater. windows zipped all up with just the top edge open slightly to watch for deer. when one comes by, i lower the window enough to get a shot.

[@BooneDownSouth]

That heater thing is really nice ;)

[@arbopro]

Nice blind but pain in the ass I find to put up and down.

[@BooneDownSouth]

Once you figure it out it's easy. But you gotta figure it out.

[@fsbirdhouse]

No! Tidewe is the way to go. Two blinds that zip to gether or stand alone is way better

[@BooneDownSouth]

I'll have to check that out.

[@krisrooney2283]

Wow . Im from canada bought my ameristep care taker a year ago No brush in spots no pockets inside . I guess we get the shitty end of the stick over here buyer beware 😏

[@BooneDownSouth]

Wow. We just actually got another one for my dad a few weeks ago and it still had the brush in spots and pocket. Bummer for you man. That is weird.

[@uvcoach42]

3M water repellent spray, cut small holes in pocket )if you’re going to leave it out for drainage ) I use those big rubber coated twist ties and hang stuff like my bow. And make sure you are concealed wear dark black if you can. Face away from the suns trajectory if you can or your movements will give you away, also it won’t white out your scopes .. or cameras ..

[@BooneDownSouth]

Yea man definitely good tips there!