The story
From Quaker + gun, referring to the pacifism associated with practitioners of the Quaker religion.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
quaker gun
Quak·er gunToday it means: A nonfunctional imitation of a gun or an artillery piece, typically made of wood and usually intended to deceive enemy forces into overestimating one's available firepower. Full definition →