Origins
Sites is an acronym for the Italian company Società Italiana Tecnologie Speciali S.p.A. In the early 1980s, the company began designing a slim, snag-free 9mm submachine gun that would be more compact than other models of the time.
In 1984, Sites began production of the M4 Spectre, a striker-fired, closed-bolt design that featured a double-action trigger and decocker. Additionally, the Spectre fed from quad-stack magazines, keeping the design extremely compact but matching the firepower of other popular designs like the Walther MPL, IMI Uzi, and H&K MP5.
Design
One of the driving concepts for the Sites Spectre was to streamline the external composition and eliminate snag points. For this reason, the Spectre lacks any protruding features such as charging handles and fire controls. The safety and decocker are ambidextrous and tightly sit against the receiver, surrounded by the ridges of the lower grip module.
The magazine release is tucked inside the trigger guard, making it ambidextrous and keeping it protected. The charging handle does not feature any extended knob or handle, only an H-shaped piece that rides close to the top of the receiver, designed to be gripped by two fingers.
While the sleek, snag-free design is incredible, the most notable feature is the quad-stack magazine. Over the years, 30 rounds has become the standard for magazine capacity, but that’s a tall order when the goal is for the gun to remain compact.
Sites solved that dilemma by fattening the body of the magazine and keeping it short overall, while quad-stacking the feed. With this innovation, the magazine is similar in length to other designs that hold half the rounds of the Spectre.
Operation
Notably, the Sites Spectre uses a closed-bolt operation. Most submachine gun designs operate off an open bolt with a fixed firing pin. When the trigger is squeezed, the bolt is released, picking up a round from the magazine and detonating the primer once the round enters the chamber. This action is inherently more difficult to shoot accurately, as the trigger squeeze releases the mass of the bolt, jolting the firearm.
The Sites Spectre has a two-piece bolt – essentially a bolt and a linear hammer. There are two different gauge springs, one riding inside of the other, controlling the two separate pieces of the bolt and linear hammer. This allows the firing pin to move inside the bolt, actuated by the release and strike of the linear hammer.
The Spectre is easily disassembled, as the design is separated into the upper and lower receiver. The lower receiver is secured by a retaining pin that doubles as a sling swivel. Once removed, a button on the back of the receiver releases the polymer grip module and trigger pack.
The upper receiver is entirely made of metal and houses the bolt, dual springs, and linear hammer. The rear sight is spring-loaded and acts as a latch to hold the backplate in place. Once it’s removed, all parts are easily detached for maintenance and cleaning. The entire firearm can be quickly broken down and reassembled.
Fate of the Sites Spectre
Sadly, the Sites Spectre did not remain in production for long. While ingenious, the firearm was pricey, making it difficult for militaries and police departments to justify purchasing the Spectre over other, less expensive submachine gun designs.
After failing to score any big contracts, Sites looked to the domestic American market and redesigned the M4 Spectre into a semi-automatic handgun marketed as the Spectre-HC. Unfortunately, importation of the design was short-lived as the design was rendered illegal in the 1994 Assault Weapons ban.
Sites went out of business in 1997. A Swiss company bought the Spectre design and produced the guns under the Greco Sport brand until Greco’s bankruptcy in 2001. Thus, the design is a rare find, as it is no longer in any sort of production.
Summary
When firearms like the Sites Spectre-HC come through our We Buy Guns program, I cannot believe that I get paid to do this job. While the design never became a huge success, the well-thought-out features and function stand as a piece of firearms innovation.
Who knows, maybe someday someone will use the quad-stack magazine and snag-free design again. Besides, who doesn’t love a good 1980s submachine gun design?
