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BOZEMAN - Federal security agents confiscated a Montana state senator's pistol at Gallatin Field after they found the weapon in his luggage.

Sen. Joe Balyeat, R-Bozeman, had packed the unloaded .44-caliber pistol in a soft-sided, unlocked case with other hunting gear that he put in a cooler. Security agents discovered the gun Wednesday as he was checking in for a flight to Alaska to go bow hunting for black bear, said Balyeat, who was not cited in the incident.

"I didn't realize it had to be declared," he said. "There was nothing intentional."

Federal law allows traveling with a firearm as long as it's in checked baggage, unloaded and stored in a hard-sided, locked case. Those checking firearms are required to inform airline agents of the weapon when baggage is being checked.

The Transportation Security Administration also rejected a tube of shoe-repair fluid the senator was carrying in his luggage.

"I also violated the shoe-goop law," said Balyeat, who's running unopposed for re-election.

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