Ive seen several bearded hens in Iowa where they are legal game, but only when I was driving around. I asked a DNR officer what he thought about it and he brought up an excellent point. Bearded hens need to be shot so they dont pass on that gene to other generations. Otherwise more and more hens would end up getting shot. So if a bearded hen comes into range for me you can guess what I'll do. Plus they probably are very tender and juicy