Here's some VERY recent experience (yesterday).
I'm 67, and I went to the range yesterday with a friend who happens to be well into his seventies.
We had three Mini-14s, two 581s and a 580. My pal fired several CONSECUTIVE 5-round, 100-yard groups with his stainless/synthetic 581 which were right in the one-inch bracket. Mine, also a 581, didn't do quite that well, but it was grouping under 1.5". (Rifles were scoped, ammo was handloaded).
I also took along my daughter's new Browning Micro-Medallion A-Bolt 7mm-08 with handloads, and it grouped three Hornady 139s into the magic inch on THREE attempts out of three.
My (new in December) DSA FAL, wearing a Bushnell 3200 scope, kept up this performance level, also grouping three rounds into 1" several times as I refined the zero.
From my recent experience, and not just with the rifles mentioned above, there's very little wrong (accuracy-wise) with recent-production rifles that *I* have bought. Maybe I've just been lucky....but my .338 Savage 116 groups 225 TSX bullets into less-than-0.75" for three rounds at 100...consistently. My #1 in .416 Rigby groups TEN RCBS cast bullets in an inch from 100 yards at 2100 fps.
I don't have many complaints.