>You mean like catching the button under the edge of a table and using
>that to push it down? That would probably work, although it might
>slip.

No, I had in mind something more like what it sounds like you can do with other box magazines: just push each round down with the next one, not bothering with the button at all. The hard surface was to brace the bottom of the magazine against, to help with overcoming the spring.

... You're right, this stuff is hard to explain in text. I think I got a pretty good picture of how it's done with the Luger magazine, though.

(Requiring care and tools to reload a magazine seems like a bit of a liability in a military sidearm, although I suppose there's an argument that if you're trying to reload your sidearm in a hurry you're already screwed.)