ive looked around cottonwood cove and the fort but never found any shops so does anyone know if they even have any?

There's the merchant Dale Barton near entrance to The Fort before the drawbridge, he doesn't sell weapons though, from my experience, because Caesar's Legion don't allow them, he sells mods though.

yea i beleive dale barton, but otherwise the van graffs and the gun runners usually have me covered since they dont discriminate