Wow! I had no idea this was going to spark such heated argumentation. I am generally happy to let the conversation evolve and I don't get upset when it veers into something unintended. This time, however, I feel the need to comment on my intentions and clarify some things.
I am actually fairly new at going to the gun shop, and I am certainly no expert on handguns. I purchased my first handgun just a few weeks ago. Most of my experience is with rifles. When I went to a gun shop, as opposed to going to Walmart or a general sporting goods store, I was expecting to find employees who were knowledgeable and helpful, rather than someone who was going to share obviously false information and try to push me into something I don't need or want. When I asked at the end of my original post, "Has anyone else had a similar experience?" I was actually wanting to know if this is a common thing or not, since I have little experience with going to the LGS.
Did I get a little flippant with the clerk? Yes, I did, and I probably should have been more forgiving, but when I go to a specialty store, I expect to find employees who know about their products. It never occurred to me that this was an unreasonable expectation. The folks at my local tire shop know a lot about tires. The folks at my local restaurant supply store know a lot about kitchen equipment, and the folks at my local hardware store know a lot about hardware. I go to these places instead of the big chains or Walmart, etc because they can assist me by providing more reliable information to help me make my decisions before I buy. That is what I was expecting from my LGS, and I'm a big enough man to admit that I over reacted when that expectation was subverted. That being said, it was pretty small as far as over reactions go - no scene, no big to-do. Just a glib comment and a peaceful withdrawal from the situation.