Welcome aboard Don!! Having the wrong front sight on rifle isn't a first occurence here, H&R has lots of models with different front sights, more than likely, they've just put the wrong one on it and as Wally stated, just need to check it. There've been reports that they were going to return to using their own proprietary sights on their rifles, what kind of front sight does it have now? If it's attached with a 6-48 screw, you can probably replace it with a Williams shorty ramp and a firesight insert to get the proper height. See the Peep and Firesights link in the FAQ for Williams sight height guide.
You could also determine what height you need and just ask H&R to send you the right front sight for it, probably depends on whether you like the sight that's on it, I know I don't care for the plain black blade or the plastic fiber optic sights they've used in the past.
Tim