This is my understanding:
The real truth is the majority of hunters had little preference whatever the buck limit.
Those in opposition to the buck limit, whether it be 2 or 3 or 1, remain a small minority of TN's deer hunters.
But for years, unbiased surveys had been trending towards lower buck limits, even when the buck limit was raised a few years ago from that long-term "2-3" to simply 3.
The more recent unbiased surveys showed a slight preference for a 2-buck limit over either 1 or 3.
But again, the majority of TN's deer hunters are more interested in simply knowing the rules, including the buck limit,
more than caring whatever the buck limit.
And, historically, going back to 1998, TN had a 2-buck limit for rifle season until it was very recently increased to a simple 3 for the year, then changed to it's current simply 2 for the year. There would have simply been less controversy had TWRA never increased the limit to 3 for a relatively short period of time. IMO, THAT was the mistake, not today's 2-buck limit, which is basically what we've had since 1998.
Understand that most of us posting here on TNdeer.com are among the most avid and accomplished deer hunters in TN, but we're a small minority of TN's hunters. The majority have a hard time understanding anyone's outrage over the buck limit being 2 instead of 3, since that majority typically doesn't even kill "a" buck annually.
Many of them see us more avid hunters as a selfish lot, as when we regularly kill multiple bucks annually, there is unquestionably less opportunity for they young and less accomplished and/or less avid hunters. IMO, the simple 2-buck limit strikes the best balance considering all factors, which included the rising buck harvest of TN's early muzzleloader season (for which younger and less accomplished hunters were less participating). Many believed too many of our available bucks were being killed before the main deer season even opened. The simple 2-buck limit was in part an effort to reduce that trend.
But this was still just a carburetor adjustment, not an engine overhaul.