A lot of variables here...

Are you certain that the fron sight was not filed? If you think that it has been altered, T/C does a good job in replacing sights (although the turn-around time can sometimes be long).

Are you shooting this from a rest? Is it a hard rest? Most all of my Contenders shot very high when the forearm or the barrel was rested on any hard surface.

Ammo is yet another variable. What ammo have you tried, so far?

Depending on you proclivities, you might want to consider scoping that 44. You cannot really appreciate what a 14" Contender in .44Mag can do a great distances (well over 150-yards).

If all the above fails to provide solutions, consider a new barrel. My last Contender was a scoped 10" in .41Mag; could easily get the 210gr. Hornady XTPs to 1700fps; shot amazingly flat and would put 5 rounds insided of 2" at 100yards! My all-time favorite Contender was a scoped 10" in .30 Herret - a real pain to make brass, but shot 125gr. Sierra SPFP into almost one hole at 100yards.

Good Luck -

Reggie