Not sure I'd want to handle these at all Julian. I'm not familiar with guns and ammo but it seems to me old ammo like this still can be dangerous.
Any idea when they might have been from? I'm thinking maybe WWII era?
I doubt that they are that old. Probably in the last 12 to 24 months. The beach is at times through our winter months occupied by the marines. they use it as practice.
I have worked on trawlers as a teenager when catching mines and old torpedo's. That is a bit scary as a mine will sometimes be in the cod end without having spotted it until it is aboard. Torpedo's are quite large and difficult to get aboard, often spotted in the trawl over the side. The ones I have seen, tear out the trawl the moment it is winched out the water, or you leave it over the side.
Protocol is to contact the authorities, the navy will usually send someone to meet at a destination, close to shore off a beach, where the mine or whatever is dealt with. Usually a controlled explosion.
This is or used to be a common occurrence, in the English channel as there are many wrecks from WW2. these wrecks attract fish, which in turn attract the trawlers in the attempt to trawl as close to the wreck as possible, as it is good fishing.
If the vessel is of a military nature, the bits of junk caught up can be interesting.
The advice when you have a mine on board was to keep the hose on it
The beach where these blanks were found is the beach where the trawlers, in this part of the world bring in the dangerous catches to be dealt with.
