Is it possible that there are props that are not parentable?  I have this set of weapons that I got years ago that I never used.  Try as I might those suckers will not parent to this guys left hand.  I know how to parent, so that's not the issue.  I'm doing it same as I've gone a millino times, it's just that nothing happens.

Any hints out there in poser world?

Some more info on what the weapons are and who made them might be an idea, then we can see if we have them and have the same issues!

If they are props and not already parented then they should parent to a figure body part.

Try looking at hierarchy editor. That will show you if its one prop or a group. 

If its a figure rather than a prop you parent it a little differently, i.e you parent the body to the hand.

There are 2 ways to parent...

1.  Figure menu and then "Parent", which is things like figure items that you are using for a different figure, IE: Hair   You can also do this through the parameter dials under the second tab.

2.  Object menu and then "Change Parent', which is for props.

Yeah, I know how to parent.  In both cases.  These are props and parenting doesn't work.

I don't know who or where I got them.  If I remember correctly they are some of the first poser weapsons that I got for Poser 4 a long time ago.  They may have been called Questor or from Questor, I've moved my props everywhere over time, so Lord knows.

Have you looked at the innards of the PP2 files?  Are they built as
smartprops for some particular body part?  (In other words, do they
have a "smartParent" line somewhere?)

Or (just a wild guess) do they have a "readScript" line that causes
them to depend on something that isn't in your scene?

Aha! These are Questors Sci-Fi or Western guns, did you get them from DAZ free stuff??
I have these but am at work right now but I'll try them out when I get home, late afternoon UK time!!
I have them but don't use them much!