I have a 14" .45-70 barrel for my Contender. Stainless, with a lot of little holes all around the end of the barrel. Has mounting holes for a scope base, no sights. I put a red dot on it. Not sure how well it would hold up, I use a cheap red dot sight.
A couple hundred rounds of factory equivalent handloads (400gr cast) and so far the sight has survived. My only complaint is the dot tends to go away in bright light. Since the cheap ($35) dollar one has made it this far, I will be putting a better one on it eventually.
I don't have a problem shooting it, even one handed (although holding it up one handed is a chore). However, some new shooters who have talked me into letting them try it have had it hit them in the nose!
Mine shoots very well (potentially better than I do), and while recoil is stout, muzzle rise is less than a 10" octagon unported .44 Mag barrel (which is, of course, much lighter).
Any good gunsmith could mount a front sight on your barrel. How well it would stay there would depend on what loads you shoot, but I think it could be done satisfactorily.
Personally I would recommend the Pachmayr rubber grip, it helps me a lot.