Thanks for the explanation. So then which one you choose depends on the average distance the shooting will be done?
You want to look at the adjustment range of the scope and the ranges you'll be shooting and what your drop will be at those ranges. Try to put the most common ranges near the center of the scope range while making sure that everything you want to do is within the adjustment range.
So for example say I got a hankering to shoot my 375 WSM anywhere from point blank to 1000y. It needs 8 MOA of elevation for a MPBR zero. it needs 60 MOA of elevation at 1000y. The scope is a Nightforce NSX copact with adjustment from +50 to -50 MOA. So without a rail I couldn't even get on target at 1000y. An ideal rail would have about 35MOA of elevation built in, so I'd be using from +25 to -27 on the scope. A 30 or 40 MOA rail would also work fine.
Obviously that's an extreme example of a slow, fat cartridge at long range, but it illustrates how you work the problem.