I use shared hosting, and with over 60 & growing ranges blocked, I got frustrated diagnosing server errors when the last 300 lines were mostly filled with "ip 123.456.132.465 denied due to server configuration."
Redirecting rogue bots and scrapers puts minimal load on the server, and sending them to a live site is likely to upset the site that gets the traffic. So I teach the bots to contemplate their navels so to speak.
But after what you pointed out, I'm going to test
RewriteRule .* http://%{REMOTE_ADDR} [L,R=403]