I found a bunch of bullets magnet fishing in the canal in Nottingham!
Bullets shouldn't be magnetic since they are made of brass, copper and lead, but I guess these ones had enough rusty ferrous material stuck to them that I pulled them out with a magnet anyway.
The little rod below the horseshoe is also entirely made of copper and not all magnetic, but it was held on to the magnet by some rusty scrap.
I also got a fair amount of loose change, and what I think is a door knob that I was a little worried could be a grenade when I pulled it out amongst the bullets.
Steel cased shells shoot like shit in all of my guns. I bought a bunch of them online when the ammo shortages were prevalent over the last 5 years, and they all jammed quite a bit. I wouldn't want to rely on those during a war.
The plug from a telephone switchboard is a really good suggestion. One end of it moves in and out and it has what looks like a terminal for a wire in.
The outside of at least some of the casings is definitely brass judging from the colour, but some are so corroded I wouldn't be surprised if they were steel cased.
Handing them in to the police would probably be a good idea, although the Bobby I spoke to on the day completely ignored me when I told him that I'd been pulling bullets out all day.
My colleague suggested I chuck them in a fire and see what happens but I don't think I'll be taking that advice haha
They probably wouldn't do anything after sitting in a lake for years. It's unlikely you can completely dry the powder out. Even when bullets are brand new, they're not very dangerous when exploding in a fire. They really need the compression from the gun chamber to build up critical velocity. They can still occasionally puncture skin though, or give you a bruise, so it's not a great idea. It is however great fun when young, drunk, and invincible.
The cops would probably look at you like you're crazy if you try to turn in a bunch of non functional bullets. If you don't want them, just throw them away.