If this is going to be your first revolver I hope you are a handloader so you can gradually work up to full house .44 magnum loads. The rear sight is held onto the top strap by two screws and the front sights on S&W revolvers are most often pinned in place, so you should be able to swap out the sights if you don't like the factory supplied ones.
I for one don't like scopes on handguns, but if you must, Leupold has a selection of pistol scopes, and Leupold is my preferred brand for moderately priced scopes. Be sure to get good quality rings, and keep the scope magnification low to optimize the narrow field of view you have with an extended eye relief scope, which could be an issue even if you shoot with both eyes open.