I'm not sure on the encores, but on the contender you have to drive out the front pin that the sight hinges on. That will allow you to get to the screws underneath and remove them. Like I said, though, I'm not sure if the encore works the same way or not. I've never tried to take one off of one.
All of the standard barrels that I've had from the factory have had sights on them except for the ones in the hunter configuration with a muzzle tamer on them. My 22 match has a front sight, but I left it on and mounted a scope on the rear.