Does anybody know the process of drifting the front sight on a M44?

hammer and a punch. it will help to soak the front sight with penetrating fluid first, and i would put it on a wood block nice and secure to get a good whack at it. mine took a hell of a beating before it moved.

Yes.  
I lay my rifle barrel on a soft piece of wood (cedar) that supports the barrel and the sight dovetail.  I then use a brass drift and a hammer to tap the sight over in the dovetail.  That is the best way to not damage the rifle.  If you find a place where it is dialed in and will leave in that position, stake the sight with a small cold chisel or steel punch.  That will remove some bluing so I use a little cold blue just on the scratched spot and you never see the difference from the original and the touch up.  I use a q-tip to apply the bluing.

I beat the snot out of a few also! A brass punch may end up bent! A good steel nail set and a piece of soft steel between the 2.

I had alot of difficulty myself until the guys here reassured me that beating the sight was good to go.  Now I routinely shoot at 300 yards, easily hitting 5 gallon buckets and other pieces of debris.

I layed the rifle on a stack of shop towels and used a hammer and steel punch until it was dialed in.  Nobody was at the range to watch the show.