ok i have a shotgun that looks like a muzzleloader, it has a hammer that looks like it strikes a cap on a nipple, but it is hitting a rod that strikes a fireing pin like a new shotgun. anybody seen this?

Yeah, inline black powder guns, external hammer shotguns. And it sounds like somewhere in the linkage, the gun opens at the breech end. Names, brands, model numbers, other markings would help ID this gun.