My answer was for the 1870s and 1880s. It would be different before or after. Pick your specific time period as you choose for your answer. CC Griff
Nice topic for a fun discussion. 1870/1880 specific?
1870 to 1874?
'66 and a pair of 1860 Army Colt's converted to shoot the 44 Rimfire prior to 1873. Big change over in 1874.
Unlimited budget? SAA. 45 Colt, 4 3/4 for in town. 7.5" in the same for on the horse. The short SAA mentioned previous as a spare in the saddle pockets. Both nickeled and smooth ivory for easy of cleaning/care. More concerned about the early SAA reliability than shared ammo with the carbine.
1873 saddle ring carbine in 44wcf for a saddle gun. Forty round 44wcf ammo belt to go with. Carbine and ammo belt packing 50 rounds total or a single box of shells. 1876, 22" short rifle, round barrel, in 45/75, pistol gripped and checkered for bigger prey. 40 round ammo belt combo bandoleer for that one too.
I would have changed the '73 out for the same in a '92 to drop weight on the horse. If I was headed for a known fight I'd take the 73...being more reliable IMO. Hand gun? I would have changed out or added to the SAA with an early 1911 asap. More ammo and easier to reload. Rifle? '94 short rifle, again a 22" round barrel rifle, in 30-30 this time around would have made a lot of sense by my standards. Checkered and pistol gripped now...and a TD.
Likely would have owned a '86 in 45-90 and '95 carbine in 30 US first thing when they became available and abandoned them just as quickly. Too heavy and a clunky action compared to the '76. '95 (and 30 US) is a great shooter just to hard to carry on anything but a horse.